Malaysia’s national hockey team has been cleared of match-fixing following their poor performance in the recent Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, a top official said Tuesday. “There were rumours during the tournament (about match-fixing). It was discussed during our June 8 management meeting. We found there was no truth to it,” Maninderjit Singh, secretary of the Malaysian Hockey Federation told AFP.
“We believe there must be evidence. The police were called in to check the allegations during the tournament…there is noting to substantiate the corruption claims,” he said. “The team is clean,” he said, adding that the side can now focus on its Olympic qualifiers. The annual Sultan Azlan Shah Cup sees the world’s top national teams compete for the trophy, won this year by Australia.
Maninderjit made the remarks after a report in the New Straits Times newspaper Tuesday alleged that at least four Malaysian players fixed matches to settle gambling debts.
