KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — The national men’s and women’s hockey five-a-side teams will compete in the inaugural 2024 Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman, from January 24 to January 31.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said both teams qualified after competing in the Hockey5s World Cup Qualifiers which ended in September.
“The World Cup will be held from January 24 to January 27 for the women’s teams and January 28 to January 31 for the men’s teams. The men’s team are in Group D with Oman, the United States, and Fiji.
“Meanwhile, the women’s squad have been drawn in Group A with Oman, Fiji, and the Netherlands,” he said during a press conference to introduce the sponsors for the national team at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil recently.
Only the top three teams from the Qualifiers advanced to the World Cup in Muscat, with the national men’s team, who finished fourth, qualifying as a replacement for Oman, who are the hosts of the 2024 Hockey5s World Cup, and the national women’s team qualified when they finished third after losing 9 – 5 to India in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, national Hockey5s team manager Shukri Mutalib said the players have been given a week’s break and will resume training next week in Bukit Jalil.
“We will select eight players and two goalkeepers in mid-January,” he said, adding they have not set any targets for both the men’s and women’s teams to avoid putting any pressure on the players.
— Bernama
