Downpour hurts Malaysia’s preparations ahead of Olympics
Heavy rains over the last week were not a good omen for the Malaysian men’s hockey team, as its preparations are badly affected ahead of the FIH Champions Challenge I, set to be played from November 26 to December 4, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The team was scheduled to play a couple of friendly games in the head of the final preparations prior to the prestigious tournament, but they were halted due torrential rains.
The first friendly match between Malaysia and South Africa lasted for only 20 minutes while the second, between Malaysia and India, failed to start at all. Furthermore, the downpour also affected the training sessions of the players.
In all, eight teams will be featuring in the Champions Challenge, Malaysia, Canada, Japan, Argentina, India, Poland, Belgium and the host, South Africa.
George Koshy, the manager of the team, informed that the rains affected not only their training but also the other teams.
He observed, “In fact rain is expected to fall for the whole week and we are bracing for wet matches over the weekend. We are not sure what contingency plans the organisers have if the matches cannot be held as scheduled. But we will raise this matter at
the team managers’ meeting”.
He stated that the players are anxious to go in the fields but the abrupt changes in the weather are serving as an impediment in their plans. However, the manager was satisfied with the arrangement made by the management.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) is looking to finish the event with a position among the top five teams.
The Malaysian team will take on Canada in its first match of the tournament. The Canadian team is at its best, as it secured a silver medal in the 2011 Pan American Games.
Apart from offering ranking points, the teams’ positions in the Olympic Qualifying tournaments will not be changed by the Champions Challenge I’s results.
Additionally, the tournament will give all the teams an edge in terms of training in the forthcoming Olympic Qualifiers.
Argentina, Belgium and South Africa have secured their places in the finals while Poland, Japan, Canada, India and Malaysia will have to contest the qualifiers to book a spot in the 2012 London Olympics.
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