BUKIT JALIL – The men’s national junior hockey team has set the modest target of progressing beyond the group stage of the 2021 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup at Bhubaneswar, India from November 24 to December 5.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) national team management committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak said the target was set after taking into consideration the negative effects the Covid-19 pandemic and the movement control order had on the team’s preparation for the championship.
“Our target is to get past the group stage first. I have told our players to take it one step at a time, with regards to what they will face in India,” he said at a media conference here yesterday.
Ahmad Najmi, however, was confident that the team, coached by Wallace Tan, could do well in India following its encouraging performance during the recent 2021 United Kingdom Tour series.
Out of a total of eight matches, Malaysia recorded two wins, a draw and five losses in the tour that took place between October 3 and 5.
Ahmad Najmi also said that the national team, which is expected to depart for India on November 16, will face at least three warm-up matches before the championship begins.
He said there were five top teams, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and France, that have expressed interest in playing Malaysia in the warm-up matches.
On concerns of the recent Covid-19 infections in India, Ahmad Najmi was confident that the organisers have made careful preparations to ensure all teams were safe from the risk of infection and said that the team have complied with all standard operating procedures set by MHF here.
Malaysia faces a tough time at the upcoming Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup, as they have been drawn in Group A and will face Chile in their opening match on November 24, before meeting 2016 runners-up Belgium on November 26 and ending the group stage against South Africa a day later. – Bernama, November 6, 2021
