Selamat Hari Lahir, Arul Selvaraj!
Legasi Lagenda mengucapkan selamat hari kelahiran kepada ketua jurulatih hoki negara, Arul Selvaraj!
Arul mewakili Malaysia untuk kali terakhir di Piala Dunia Utrecht 1998. Pada kejohanan kelayakan Piala Dunia iaitu Piala Antara Benua 1997, beliau berjaya menjaringkan gol kemenangan apabila Malaysia mengalahkan Afrika Selatan 4–3.
Sebelum dilantik sebagai jurulatih kebangsaan, Arul merupakan jurulatih pasukan UniKL selama lapan tahun dalam Liga Hoki Malaysia. Pada musim 2020, UniKL berjaya melengkapkan kemenangan ‘treble’ – memenangi Piala TNB (juara keseluruhan), Liga Perdana dan Piala Sumbangsih.
Arul diserap masuk ke pasukan kebangsaan sebagai ketua jurulatih pada Ogos 2020 dan telah membimbing skuad Speedy Tigers meraih pelbagai kemenangan. Pada 2022, mereka menjuarai Piala Sultan Azlan Shah buat kali pertama setelah menewaskan Korea Selatan 3–2 pada perlawanan akhir. Selaku naib johan Piala Asia 2022, mereka juga telah layak ke Piala Dunia Hoki 2023, di mana pasukan negara menduduki tempat ketiga belas.
Selepas pencapaian tahun tersebut, Arul dianugerahkan jurulatih lelaki terbaik manakala pasukan hoki negara memenangi anugerah pasukan lelaki terbaik di Anugerah Sukan Negara yang diadakan pada 17 Julai 2023.
Speedy Tigers turut menduduki tempat keenam di Sukan Asia 2023. Pencapaian ini membawa mereka ke Kelayakan Olimpik Hoki 2024, yang akan berlangsung dari 15 – 21 Januari 2024, di mana Malaysia diletakkan dalam Pool A bersama Great Britain, Pakistan dan China.
Kami mengucapkan selamat maju jaya kepada Arul dan pasukan Speedy Tigers!
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Legasi Lagenda wishes a happy birthday to national hockey coach, Arul Selvaraj!
Arul last played for Malaysia at the 1998 Utrecht World Cup. During the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, which served as the World Cup qualifiers, Arul scored the winning goal as Malaysia defeated South Africa 4–3.
Before being appointed as the national team coach, Arul was head coach for UniKL in the Malaysian Hockey League for eight years. In the 2020 season, they made an impressive feat of completing the treble – winning the TNB Cup (declaring them overall champions), the Premier League, and the Charity Shield.
Arul joined the national team as head coach in August 2020 and has guided the team to many successes. In 2022, the Speedy Tigers won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for the first time after defeating South Korea 3–2 in the final match. They were also runners-up at the 2022 Asia Cup, which led them to qualify for the 2023 Hockey World Cup, where they placed thirteenth.
After the year’s achievements, Arul was named national men’s coach of the year while the national hockey team won the award for men’s team of the year at the 2022 National Sports Awards held on 17 July 2023.
Last year, the national team placed sixth at the 2023 Asian Games, earning them a spot at the 2024 Men’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, which will take place from January 15 – 21, 2024. Malaysia was drawn into Pool A with Great Britain, Pakistan and China.
We wish Arul and the Speedy Tigers all the best.
