SEPANG, Aug 13 — Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal is confident the national men’s hockey team will be able to clinch their maiden Asian Games gold in Hangzhou, China.
He said the Speedy Tigers squad’s 3 – 4 defeat to hosts India in the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) final in Chennai yesterday could be a blessing in disguise for the elusive gold, which would guarantee them a 2024 Paris Olympics ticket as continental champion.
The boys now have to be highly determined, work harder and believe in themselves to beat world number three India at the Asiad, scheduled from September 23 to October 8.
“Now that India beat our boys, (we) can clearly say they would be raring, roaring to go in China. The next time they meet India in Asian Games, they must win…we nearly beat India yesterday, despite playing in their home ground.
“They needed a last-minute goal to defeat us. It clearly shows our team has progressed, but I will always tell the team and coach A. Arulselvaraj they must be consistent, not just play well in one tournament and then disappear,” Subahan told reporters after welcoming the Speedy Tigers squad at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport earlier today.
However, he cautioned that apart from powerhouse India, world number nine Malaysia must also be wary of defending champions Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, and hosts China in Hangzhou.
Meanwhile, Subahan said MHC would be giving bonuses to the ACT squad for their historic final appearance to spur them for the Asiad, but the amount is yet to be decided.
Finishing as runners-up this time is the best achievement ever by the Speedy Tigers since the inception of the ACT in 2011, having finished third five times in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2018.
In yesterday’s ACT final, the Speedy Tigers led 3 – 1 in the second quarter, but India struck twice in the space of a few seconds to make it 3 – 3 in the final minute of the third quarter before sealing their fourth ACT title with the winning goal just four minutes before the final whistle.
In Hangzhou, Malaysia is in Group B with South Korea, China, Oman, Thailand and Indonesia, while India, Japan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore and Uzbekistan comprise Group A. Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals.
In the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, the national squad missed the gold after losing to Japan in the final.
— Bernama
