Singaporean Aidil Sharin wins Coach of the Year award at Malaysia's annual football gala
SINGAPORE – When Aidil Sharin Sahak took over Sarawakian side Kuching City midway through the 2023 season, they were mired in a relegation battle in the Malaysia Super League (MSL) but eventually avoided the drop despite finishing 13th out of 14.
But in just his first full season in charge, the Singaporean helped them achieve a remarkable fourth placing out of 13 in the 2024-25 campaign, which secured a berth in next season's Asean Club Championship.
The feat helped him win the Coach of the Year accolade at Malaysia's National Football Awards on April 23.
The 47-year-old edged out two other nominees from more established sides – Venezuelan coach Hector Bidoglio of MSL champions Johor Darul Takzim and Selangor's Japanese tactician Katsuhito Kinoshi.
When contacted, Aidil told The Straits Times that he feels very honoured to have won the award and it was something he did not expect.
'Honestly, I didn't really hope for it, because I didn't win the last three times when I was nominated,' he said. 'But this time, when I don't hope for anything, it comes. To be in the top three is already a blessing for me.'
In an earlier stint in Malaysia, Aidil had won the 2019 FA Cup with Kedah and led the north Malaysian club to runners-up finishes in the 2020 and 2021 MSL. After leaving Kedah in 2022, he had a six-month sojourn with Indonesian top-tier side Persikabo 1973 in 2023, before joining Kuching in August that year.
When he arrived in the Sarawakian capital, Aidil realised that the ageing team needed an overhaul. With the backing of the board, he changed nearly 90 per cent of the squad.
The players he brought in included Gambia-born forward Jordan Mintah, who scored 14 goals in 20 MSL appearances this season, Ivorian striker Tchetche Kipre and Nigerian centre-back James Okwuosa.
'The key thing is to blend them together as a team,' said Aidil. 'And it's not easy when it's just the first year they are together. But the management and players' support helped the team to grow fast and to be in the top four this season.'
He will be eyeing further improvement next season as he targets a continental spot. MSL champions qualify for the Asian Champions League Elite, while the runners-up will earn a place in the Asian Champions League Two (ACL2).
He added: 'Our target from the management this season was actually top eight, but we managed top four. So definitely next season, we know everyone is going to expect more.'
'I was in the AFC (Cup) every year in Singapore, so I missed that,' added Aidil, who guided Home United to the Asean zonal title of the AFC Cup, the predecessor of ACL2, in 2018.
Singaporean Aidil Sharin guided relegation battlers Kuching FC to a fourth-place finish in his first full season.
PHOTO: ASTRO
'That is the main target, to be consistent so that we can play continental games.'
He is expecting the new season to be more challenging, with the expected additions of new sides.
'It's going to be tougher because (Brunei) DPMM could potentially join the league and Melaka FC, who are just promoted, are a strong team. Malaysia Under-23 might join in as well and it will be more competitive,' said Aidil.
Kuching have already started preparations for the 2025-26 season. In an interview with Malaysian media, club chairman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman said: 'Aidil will continue with us and he has identified key players for recruitment. We're in talks with three individuals, and there will be announcements soon.'
While Aidil is mid-way through a two-year contract with Kuching, renewal talks are already underway, with the club management wanting him to be part of their long-term goals.
He said: 'My president just spoke to me, they want me to stay for a long time in the club because they are making new facilities, which they want me to be part of.
'They want me to grow the club and at the moment, I think they are very happy with what I've been contributing, but I haven't discussed it yet. For me, I just want to be open first, and let's see what's the best future for me.'
Asked about his hopes of coaching the Singapore national team in the future, Aidil said: 'I'm always ready because it's always a dream to coach your national team.
'If there's an opportunity besides Malaysia, like Thailand or Myanmar, of course I'm always open to it, because the more you go out and face big challenges, the more you grow.'
Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Paper
19 hours ago
- New Paper
S'pore triathlete Ben Khoo smashes his own national Ironman record in Hamburg
Battling the choppy waves and cold wind, Singapore triathlete Benjamin Khoo struggled at the start of the Ironman race in Hamburg, Germany, on June 1. But the 34-year-old pushed through the swim leg in the Alster Lake, made up ground on the bicycle before completing the marathon to clock 8hr 49min 46sec. In the process, he smashed his own Singapore record of 9:02:24, set at the Ironman Copenhagen race in August 2023. The Ironman race comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bicycle ride and 42km run. Khoo, a business executive in the chemicals sector, said: "There was a thunderstorm, so the race was delayed, and we were afraid that that might affect the conditions. "I didn't have a very good swim and the swim was longer than expected - 4km instead of 3.8km - but I was quite happy to make time on the bike. "So I went much, much faster than I expected. And then I got off the bike, I was like, 'okay, more or less there already'. "I just need to finish a marathon conservatively, and I will be able to break the record with quite a comfortable buffer." Triathlon Association of Singapore president Paul Rachmadi said Khoo "delivered a monumental race". He added: "Smashing his previous best of 9:02:24, Ben continues to redefine the limits of endurance, discipline and dedication. "An extraordinary achievement and a powerful inspiration to the next generation of triathletes in Singapore." In April, Khoo had also competed in the Singapore leg of the T100 triathlon series at Marina Bay, where he finished as the quickest Singaporean in the open category. The T100 is a shorter event, with participants completing a 2km swim, 80km bike race and 18km run. Khoo said: "The intensity of racing is higher (for the T100) and in Singapore, the course is also much more difficult, because it's hot... it requires a lot more fitness and skill, whereas the Ironman is more of a test of endurance. "They always say that the Ironman only begins at the last 10km of the marathon, which is not true. It's a nine-hour race… But the last 40 to 50 minutes are incredibly hard. With 14km to go, my body shut down. So I couldn't run fast, couldn't take in nutrition, which was difficult. "It was not a race against the rest of the field but a race against the clock. So I'm always checking the clock, looking at the total time." Khoo was introduced to multi-sport racing at Raffles Institution, where he participated in adventure racing - running and cycling - as part of his Boys' Brigade co-curricular activity. After secondary school, he dabbled in triathlon and first represented Singapore in the Under-23 category of the Asian Triathlon Championships in Taiwan in 2011. Khoo, who holds a master of science in management science and engineering from Stanford University, said he chose the Ironman Hamburg race as it is known to be a fast course, adding: "The age group world record was set there last year, and this year the pro women world record was also set there." Having lowered his own national record in Germany, Khoo is eyeing something else closer to home. He is hoping to be part of the national duathlon team for the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand. "The Ironman is a nine-hour race, whereas the SEA Games format for me would be 20 minutes," he said. "It's a real transformation of systems and I have to change from a long and slow athlete to high octane and pretty much a sprint. It will take some time to transform the body, so that will be my focus for the next six months."
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
China's Shi reaches Indonesian Open quarter-finals, home hopes exit
FILE PHOTO: Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Badminton - Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China - October 7, 2023 China's Shi Yuqi in action during his Men's Singles final against China's Li Shifeng REUTERS/Weixiang Lim/File Photo World number two and top seed Shi Yuqi eased past Yushi Tanaka 21-14 21-7 in the round of 16 at the Indonesia Open on Thursday, while local hope Jonatan Christie lost to Lee Cheuk Yiu. Defending champion Shi, who won the Malaysia and All-England Opens this year, took 36 minutes to defeat Japanese Tanaka and set up a quarter-final against compatriot Wang Zhengxing. Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the world number one, also progressed to the last eight with a 21-10 21-17 win over Lee Chia-hao. In the women's draw, world number one An Se-Young was similarly dominant, beating fellow South Korean Kim Ga-Eun 21-7 21-11, while India's twice Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu lost to Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong. Indonesia will not have any representative in the men's quarter-finals after Christie and Alwi Farhan both suffered defeats. Fifth-seeded Christie, who last won a Super 1000 title at the 2024 All-England Open, appeared to be cruising after taking the first game comfortably, but Hong Kong's Lee rallied to clinch a 12-21 21-12 21-10 win. "There was a lot of pressure on me. When I hit the shuttle I couldn't even hear the sound – the crowd was so loud. So I'm so happy to win this match," Lee said. "I had to calm down and start from zero, and forget what happened in the first game. I just tried to avoid mistakes and had to be patient. "It was a great experience. It was almost like playing at home in Hong Kong. I'm proud of myself. I'm happy I could do it, because my mentality is my weak side." Farhan put up a fight against third-ranked Dane Anders Antonsen, losing 21-16 18-21 21-14. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
4 days ago
- CNA
‘The scar will always be there': 10 years on, Kinabalu earthquake victims remembered by loved ones
SINGAPORE: When English football club Tottenham Hotspur won the Europa League title in May after a 17-year trophy drought, die-hard fan Karishma Jhala could only think about how happy her sister would have been to witness it. 'When ... that final whistle blew, I cried,' said the 28-year-old. 'I said … this one was for you.' Her sister Sonia was among seven students from Singapore's Tanjong Katong Primary School who were killed a decade ago on the slopes of Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu during an earthquake. She was 12 years old. The tragedy on June 5, 2015 also claimed the lives of two teachers and an adventure guide accompanying the group. Eighteen people in total perished on Malaysia's highest peak that day. In life, Sonia was bubbly, loving and always helping others unconditionally. 'She brought a lot of joy and light to our lives,' said her sister Ms Jhala, a drug and alcohol counsellor based in Brisbane, Australia. In the days following the incident, the family held a funeral for Sonia 'as she would have wanted', said Ms Jhala, who was 18 at that time. Apart from playing songs that she liked at the service, Sonia was dressed in a netball jersey - she was part of the school's team - and visitors were asked to turn up in Tottenham jerseys or similar-coloured tops to send her off. It reflected the family's strong support for the North London club, that had rubbed off on Sonia. She had a habit of watching football matches with her father late into the night, munching on a small bowl of snacks. When Tottenham learned of the tragedy that had struck the family, they invited Ms Jhala, her younger brother and parents to watch a match at White Hart Lane, Tottenham's stadium at the time. Relatives and friends paid for the August 2015 trip, telling them not to worry about the expenses. Ms Jhala has remained grateful for these kind gestures. 'That was the dream … to go to White Hart Lane and (also) to see them lift a trophy,' said Ms Jhala, reflecting on what Sonia would have loved to see for her club. 'We've managed to tick off both, right before the 10th anniversary.' Yet it's not that Ms Jhala and her family have completely moved on from the sense of loss. 'Nobody is saying that it is going to be fine, and your heart is going to be whole again - it won't, that part of it will never be repaired," she added. 'If you do the things to remember them, and you do the things that they would have loved … it goes from being an infected wound to being a healed wound, where the scar will always be there." "WOULD HAVE BEEN A HEARTBREAKER" Among those bereaved by the 2015 incident is 25-year-old Harsimran Jaryal. Her brother, Navdeep Singh Jaryal, was among the seven students. He was 13 then. Asked how she would imagine him today if he were still alive, Ms Jaryal immediately said: 'He would have been a heartbreaker.' "Maybe (he would be) someone that could have tagged along (with me) to go clubbing, have a few beers together … like a best friend,' said Ms Jaryal, a payment services analyst. As a young teenager, 'cheeky' and charming Navdeep would take the longest - in a family of women - to get ready to leave the house. 'He has to style his hair, make sure everything is prim and proper … at any family event, he will be the first one to crack a stupid joke, get everyone laughing,' said Ms Jaryal. Just like Sonia, Navdeep was passionate about sports and captained the school's floorball team. It was part of the reason he was picked for the Kinabalu climb. 'When he got the news (that he was selected) you could see how proud he was, how dedicated he was … going for practice sessions a few times a week,' said his sister. When news came that Navdeep was among the missing, the family was hit especially hard, having just lost their father at the end of 2013. 'It was just a year after we lost our dad, so (there was a) feeling of, why is this happening to us?' said Ms Jaryal. Hours turned to days, but the family still held on to hope. Navdeep and teacher Mohammad Ghazi Bin Mohamed were the last two to be found. 'I had this kind of hope that they are both somewhere safe, and maybe more time was needed to find them,' she said. But then they were asked to provide DNA samples to verify Navdeep's identity. It led to the confirmation that the boy - as well as Ghazi - had died. CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN Both Ms Jhala and Ms Jaryal have made separate trips to Mount Kinabalu in the years after, both to come to terms with the tragedy as well as to commemorate their loved ones. Ms Jaryal made the trek in 2023, an experience which she said made her feel closer to Navdeep. 'I just wanted to walk in the same steps that he walked in, breathe the same air that he was breathing, take in whatever he was seeing … and just to complete something that he was so excited to embark on,' she said. She prepared for the hike as Navdeep did, climbing stairs and doing practice hikes at Bukit Timah Hill. But it still did not prepare her for the behemoth that was Mount Kinabalu. 'I kind of underestimated how hard it was going to be,' she said, looking back at her struggles as she approached the 4,095m summit. 'There were certain points I was telling myself 'I cannot, I can't do this anymore',' she said. But she had brought with her a photo of Navdeep. At pit stops, she would look at it to remind herself of why she was doing this. 'There was a deep sense that I know I have to finish this,' she said. 'So I'll continue, painful or not; I'll continue, I'll get it done.' When she reached the peak, she was overwhelmed. 'I don't know how to put it into words; I think for me, in a sense, it felt like I was close to my brother, like he's here with me,' she said. 'It's like a sense of healing, (that) I can kind of put this to rest, nothing is left incomplete." For Sonia's sister Ms Jhala, her visit to Kinabalu struck a different kind of nerve. She had accompanied survivors and other family members of victims back to the site on a commemorative hike, just a year after the incident. 'I wouldn't say it brought closure, it was a bit traumatic reliving and walking through majority of the walk that she had done,' said Ms Jhala. While some participants like her brother and cousin managed to reach the summit, Ms Jhala and her father did not, bowing out to the arduous journey. The harsh elements she encountered helped answer some burning questions she had over the incident. 'I had a lot of questions like why didn't she get out of the way? Why didn't she try to get herself to safety? 'It wasn't until I actually climbed that I saw there was physically no way for her to have escaped,' she said. 'It was just an extremely unfortunate series of events.' KEEPING THEIR MEMORIES ALIVE Like Ms Jhala, Ms Jaryal said the pain of losing her sibling was not ever going away. 'I wouldn't say it's easy (to deal with loss); I guess as time goes on, you don't really think of it as often,' she said. But as the 10th anniversary of the incident approached, it brought back painful memories. 'The pain of what I experienced 10 years ago is still very fresh; I can still remember how I felt 10 years ago, but I think that as I grow older, I change my perception of how I see it,' she said. Ms Jhala has taken a day off work every Jun 5, since she started working in 2017. 'That's what I've done just to grieve to support myself,' she said. On Thursday (Jun 5), she plans to meet up with her younger brother, also based in Australia, to visit a church. They will light a candle and reminisce about Sonia. For Ms Jhala, it is the memories that help her come to terms with the loss, as much as it's possible to do so. 'Keeping her memory alive is what has helped me and our family; we discuss her everyday,' said Ms Jhala. On Sonia's birthday especially, the family will recall with fondness all the funny things she did and all the quirky questions she asked as a curious 12-year-old. 'Sharing memories like that, remembering memories like that help in keeping her memory alive, but also helps in healing.'
