Former international Iman Gobinathan Abdullah has pressed the reset mode as head coach of Maybank and believes the team is motivated and ready for the TNB-Malaysian Hockey League (TNB-MHL) 2025.
Excitement is building in the Maybank team as Gobinathan, fondly known as Gobi, prepares the team for a challenging journey in the TNBMHL that sees the participation of several top-notch foreign players, especially from India, Pakistan, South Korea, South Africa, China and Australia.
Australia’s Northern Territory would be making its debut while China’s Liaoning team is in their third season.
The action begins for Maybank with an eagerly anticipated match against the Malaysian Armed Forces on opening day on Saturday (Jan 4) on Pitch 1 of the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
An employee of Maybank, the former international had stints as national women’s team assistant coach, and head coach of the Bangladesh senior and junior (men and women) teams between 2021-2022.
He represented the national junior and senior teams from 1996 to 2004, having also featured at the 2000 Sydney Olympic, World Cup (1998 Utrecht and 2002 Kuala Lumpur), and the Asian Games (1998 Bangkok, and 2002 Busan, South Korea).
He now shoulders a heavy responsibility, holding the whip as head coach of Maybank, for the first time.
“I have been with Maybank for many years, and grew up with the hockey team also. The Maybank spirit is always in my heart and as coach I will do my very best to get this team roll out good results,” said Gobi.
“Armed Forces, just like the other teams, have reinforced their lineup with several players from other clubs. Every team expects a strong challenge and so do we against Armed Forces. The first match is always going to be challenging for both teams,” added Gobi.
“This year’s edition of the MHL is going to be exciting due to the presence of many foreign players. Northern Territory, and Liaoning are full sides, while Matador has eight Pakistanis with strong credentials, and Nurinsafi Sporting recruited eight players from India (including two nationals).
Liaoning, said Gobi, is strengthened by six national team players. China is currently ranked 22nd in the FIH World Rankings.
“Liaoning is a strong team. They have been playing consistently in preparation for the All-China Games which is the most important fixture in their sporting calendar,” he stressed
“For Maybank and all the other teams, the league will serve as healthy competition. It is also good for TNB MHL. We have to be on our toes at all the time,” added Gobi.
“There is no target set for Maybank in the MHL. We will go with the flow in every match,” said Gobi.
