Rival PHSI steps up hockey efforts

Rival PHSI steps up hockey efforts

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The breakaway board of the Indonesian Hockey Association
(PHSI) has pledged to step up efforts to help develop field
hockey in Indonesia.

Chairman Erizal Azhar said recently that efforts included
plans to hold more national tournaments, training clinics for
coaches and coaching clinics for students.

"We have good potential in hockey because we have players at
universities, but the level of their play is still far below the
quality that would win a gold medal at the Southeast Asian (SEA)
Games," Erizal said last week.

Erizal helped set up the breakaway board in April in protest
of the reelection of long-serving PHSI head Rajkumar Singh.

Rajkumar, who has chaired the association since 1980, has been
blamed by some for the decline in the country's field hockey
fortunes. He also has been faulted for what are seen as arbitrary
changes to the association's regulations and procedures, as well
as for dismissing several regional chapters from the
organization.

Since its establishment in April, the breakaway hockey
association has sought to gain legitimacy. It was involved in
last week's Kabelvision International eight-a-side Hockey
Festival at the Senayan Hockey Field in South Jakarta, an annual
tournament pioneered by the International Sports Club Indonesia
(ISCI).

This cooperation between the breakaway board and the ISCI
looks to continue in the future with plans to hold more
tournaments and to hire foreign coach, according to Erizal.

With more tournaments, he hopes Indonesian players will be
able to improve their level of play, particularly against
Malaysia, which has dominated the SEA Games.

Aside from more tournaments, Erizal said the PHSI also would
work with the ISCI to invite foreign coaches to train local
coaches and to provide coaching clinics for students.