KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — The national men’s junior hockey squad are ready to extend Malaysia’s more than five-decade domination in field hockey despite them having to face more experienced teams in the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this time.
Regional hockey giants Malaysia, who have won 16 gold medals since the 1971 SEAP (Southeast Asian Peninsular) Games, will have only four seniors with international experience in the squad this time as the other 14 are juniors.
The four seniors are goalkeeper Mohd Zaimi Mat Deris, Muhammad Amirul Hamizan Azahar (defender), Muhammad Najib Abu Hassan (midfielder) and Muhamad Ramadan Rosli (forward).
Head coach Muhamad Amin Rahim said that his players are ready to rumble, starting with the opening tie against hosts Cambodia at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh on Wednesday (May 10).
He hopes that the players, who went on a Tour of Australia recently, will do their best ahead of the 2023 Junior Asia Cup in Salalah, Oman from May 23 to June 1.
“The hope and target placed on the team is for them to deliver the gold medal. As for the team, we are here for the SEA Games with a two-pronged strategy, including using the biennial Games as a platform to prepare for the Junior Asia Cup.
“The players have also been reminded not to take the other teams for granted and to take to the field with a winning mentality everytime,” Muhamad Amin said.
The men’s national squad will also face Singapore (May 11), Thailand (May 13) and Indonesia (May 14) to complete the round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the final while the third- and fourth-placed teams will share the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, national women’s team head coach Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim said he has warned his players to forget about Malaysia’s past reputation and favourites tag to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on themselves.
Instead, he has advised them to stay fully focused and take it one match at a time, besides also not taking any teams for granted.
Mohd Nasihin said that only four players in the women’s team have experienced playing in the SEA Games while the others have played in other international tournaments, like the 2022 Asia Cup, 2022 Junior World Cup and the recent China Invitational.
“The selection criteria used for the SEA Games focused more on the players’ ability to adapt to playing a fast game, making good decisions, possessing good technical capability and having a positive mindset. The coaches, officials and players are also highly motivated to go for gold in Cambodia.
“The experience gained by every player will come in handy as we work on building their confidence. This year’s SEA Games will also see us introducing 19-year-old Azmyra Mia Sofea Azhairy,” he said.
The national women’s team, who have dominated field hockey by bagging gold seven times in a row from the 1997 Jakara edition to the 2017 Kuala Lumpur edition, will face Cambodia on Wednesday (May 10), followed by Singapore (May 11), Thailand (May 13) and Indonesia (May 15).
Field hockey will make a return to the biennial Games after a six-year lapse, having been omitted from the 2019 Philippines and 2021 Vietnam editions.
— Bernama
