Arul to put new system to test in South Korean friendlies

KUALA LUMPUR – The national men’s hockey team has lined up four friendlies whilst in Incheon, South Korea starting from June 18 to 28.

A total of 20 players have been selected to go on the friendly tour to play a series of matches against the South Korean national team.

“This series of friendly matches will be one of the preparations for the national team for the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy which will take place from August 3 to 12 in Chennai, India.

“Other than that, the series of friendlies will be the platform for two new players, Mohd Fitri Saari and Abdul Khaliq Hamirin, who have been called up to show their ability against the ninth-ranked team in the world in South Korea,” said MHC in a statement today.

Commenting on the four friendly matches in Incheon, the national team coach, A. Arul Selvaraj described these friendly matches as important for his squad to test their ability and to adapt to the new game system.

“We have a new system of play and we will use this tour to experiment with this new system.

“After coming back from the 2023 World Cup, we have made changes to our play style.

“The series against the Koreans is the best opportunity to assess how effective this new system that we have implemented. 

“We will also use this tour to assess our players’ physical condition, because 90% of the changes we made involve the players’ strength and physical conditioning.

“So we will use match situations to test them,” said Arulselvaraj.

He also wants to see his charges take more responsibility in games, especially from a tactical understanding aspect.

The team will take things one at a time to see their progress.

“We will also see how the Korean team plays, and from there, we will plan what improvements we need to make for the remaining friendly matches.

“However, the team’s main focus in this friendly tour series is our system and the players’ position, including their physical strength, to compete.

“There is also a slight change in the players’ position that I will carry out in this friendly tour series,” explained Arul.

The national men’s squad will leave for Incheon on Sunday and will begin their first friendly match on Wednesday.

The following is the match schedule for Malaysia’s friendly series against South Korea:

1. Wednesday, June 21, 4pm

2. Friday, June 23, 4pm 

3. Sunday, June 25, 4pm 

4. Tuesday, June 27, 4pm – The Vibes, June 16, 2023