KUALA LUMPUR – All players in the Women’s Hockey Special Project Squad have equal chances to compete in the 2022 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup in Muscat, Oman from Jan 21 to 28 as coaches will select players based on their current performance.
The team’s head coach, Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim said that an open selection session will be held at the National Hockey Stadium from Jan 8 to 16 to determine the line-up of the Malaysian Tigress squad to Muscat as they were unable to assess the players at the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) tournament last month.
He clarified that players who have just completed their rehabilitation process after sustaining injuries, like forward Hanis Nadiah Onn, also stood a chance to fight for slots to the tournament.
“Out of the 30 players who will register in at the National Sports Council (NSC) tomorrow, only 20 will be chosen for the campaign at Muscat. All players will be given equal chances,” he told Bernama, adding that they would undergo a five-day quarantine before being allowed to begin training.
Mohd Nasihin said they had to conduct the selection because they were unable to evaluate the squad’s performance as they were not allowed to play at the ACT in Donghae, South Korea after one of the players tested positive for COVID-19.
The squad had to undergo around two weeks of quarantine in Donghae, as well as seven more days at Kampung Pandan Sports Complext upon their return to Malaysia.
On the targets set for the Asia Cup, Mohd Nasihin said it was impossible to set a high target as his charges had not competed in any tournament for the past two years.
He was, however, optimistic the Asia Cup would be a golden opportunity for the squad to gain valuable experience to hone their skills for future championships.
"The players are nervous but at the same time excited to play their first tournament. I hope they will do their best as they have our trust and we would like to expose them to the highest levels of competition.
“Now we are in the pre-competition preparation stage, our focus is more to game plans and technical aspects. We will also hold friendly matches with three or four teams around here,” he added.
The squad’s best achievement in the Asia Cup was winning the bronze in the first edition in 1985 in Seoul, South Korea, and they ended fifth in the 2017 edition in Kakamigahara, Japan. – Bernama, January 2, 2022
