Revington Returns To Malaysia With Dual Mission

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Former Malaysian men's hockey squad head coach Paul Revington has been appointed as Malaysian Hockey Confederation’s (MHC) technical director (development). MHC president Subahan Kamal said the South African-born coach would not only be responsible for overseeing the grassroots development in the country but also play a role as the 2026 special project squad director. Revington, who had previously served as the Great Britain women’s elite development programme head coach, has signed a three-year contract with the MHC until 2023 and will start work immediately. "Earlier today, we had a meeting with all the coaches, talking about the way forward, so they are clear as to what we expect from them. I hope that in the years to come, we will able to scout for more young and talented players so as to have continuity in the national programme," Subahan told a press conference at the MHC headquarters here Monday. Meanwhile, Revington denied that he left the national squad in 2014 due to the internal rift with other local coaches, saying his decision then was related to the brain tumour he suffered from. "The decision to come back was pretty much around the opportunity that lies here again,” he said. Revington's first major task would be to help the national men's junior hockey squad qualify for the 2021 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup in India through the 2021 Men's Junior Hockey Asian Cup in Dhaka Bangladesh, slated to be held from Jan 21-30. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has yet to announce the venue and dates for the World Cup meet in India. Revington's best result during his three-year tenure as head coach was guiding Malaysia to qualify for the 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup in The Hague, the Netherlands after a 12-year absence. During Monday's press conference, Subahan also announced the appointment of former national women's squad skipper Siti Noor Amarina Ruhani as the 2026 special project women's squad manager and former international I. Vikneswaran as the special project men's squad manager. -- BERNAMA