Malaysia optimistic for a better show in the Olympic Qualifiers
Malaysia’s national men’s hockey team will contest the Olympic Qualifiers to book a ticket for the 2012 London Olympics, set to be played from March 11 to 18, 2012, in Dublin, Ireland.
Malaysian Hockey Coach, Tai Beng Hai, believes that they will face tough resistance from Ireland and South Korea in the group matches of the qualifying tournament. However, he was optimistic for a reasonable show in the event.
He pointed out, “We must not be overly confident against the other lower ranked teams as all of them are capable of playing good hockey”.
In his view, it does not matter which teams they will face in the group fixtures. The real issue is that they will have to deliver their best in the qualifiers, he added.
The coach continued that there will be only one ticket in the qualifiers, and therefore they will have to contest all the stages with tremendous determination.
Beng Hai analysed, “Our players have shown that they no longer fear playing the Koreans and this is a plus sign that must be duplicated in Dublin”.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) released the groupings for the Olympic qualifiers after a detailed meeting, held over the weekend, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In one of three Olympic Qualifiers, Malaysia will encounter South Korea, Russia, Chile, Ukraine and the host, Ireland, in search of a spot for the London Games.
The two other qualifying tournaments will be held in India and Japan on February 15-26 and April 25 to May 6, 2012, respectively.
In the February’s tournament, India will play against Poland, United States, Egypt, Canada and France for a solitary ticket to the London Gala.
In the last qualifiers, hockey teams from China, Spain, Czech Republic, Cuba and Austria will fight against each other for a single Olympic berth in Japan.
In the men’s category, teams from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Belgium, Argentina, Germany, South Africa and Pakistan have already qualified for the Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian women’s squad will also contest a qualifying tournament to book a place in the London Tournament. It will face Trinidad & Tobago, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Chile and the host, Japan.
The Malaysian team played good hockey during the current season but it will have to knockdown the Asian giant, Korea, to book a position in the Olympic Gala.
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