May
6
Sundeep Misra
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia want to host the Asia Cup hockey tournament next year.
And they will be facing the challenge of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the bid to host the tournament, which offers three places to the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi.
Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor said after chairing the council meeting yesterday: “We will know who will get to host the tournament during the Asian Junior Cup in Hyderabad in July.”
In the Asia Cup in Chennai last year, Malaysia won the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Mohd Anwar said that the council had received the report on the national team's performance in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan last month.
In the six-team tournament, Malaysia finished third. World number one ranked Germany took the last ticket on offer to the Beijing Games in August.
Mohd Anwar said that the team failed to do well in the qualifiers because of poor defence and a blunt forward-line.
“The forwards breached the Italian defence 43 times in the match against 11 from the opponents. And yet, we only managed a 4-4 draw. The defence also conceded soft goals, especially in the crucial match against Japan to decide who made it to the final,” he said.
Mohd Anwar added that they would hire two foreign coaches on a short-term basis to help strengthen the national team's defence and attack.
“We already have Shahid (Ali Khan) of Pakistan as coach for the goalkeepers. We are on a lookout for coaches who can do short stints with the defenders and forwards,” he said.
The national team’s next assignment is the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, which begins on Thursday in Ipoh. And Mohd Anwar said that their target in the seven-team tournament was to qualify for the final.
Last year, Malaysia were beaten 1-3 by Australia in the final.
(Courtesy, The Star, Malaysia)
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