KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Hockey Confederation targets to reach the semi-final of the Nations Cup, scheduled to take place in Potchefstroom, South Africa on November 28.
National team management committee chairman Datuk Najmi Razak said it is a realistic target for the team, although Malaysia is the highest-ranked amongst the other eight teams in the tournament.
“Our target is to win the group stage, so we have set the team to qualify for the semi-final first. Hopefully, everything will go well,” Najmi said when met at a press conference held at the National Hockey Stadium, Bukit Jalil.
“We took lessons from the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
“We did not have a good start, but the team persevered and changed their game style, and finally won the title for the first time.”
Najmi added that 20 players will be fielded for the tournament and placed in Group B with South Korea, Canada, and Japan.
Meanwhile, national head coach A. Arul Selvaraj said the tournament would be good exposure for the players.
“We want to give them more international exposure, which will help elevate their game. We want the players to shine again by participating in more competitions, just like how they performed at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh two weeks ago.
“From the coaching side, we have given them the confidence they need. In terms of game time, everyone will get the chance to play.” – The Vibes, November 21, 2022
