Malaysian Hockey Federation looking for better performance in Asian Champions Trophy in China
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) looked quite hopeful fir a better result by the Malaysian national hockey side in their upcoming assignment at the Asian Champions Trophy going to be played in Ordos, China from September 3 to 11.
The team will be tested against the Asian hockey power houses like India, South Korea and the reigning Asian Games Champions, Pakistan. The other teams will be the hosts, China and Japan.
The Malaysians will start their campaign at the Asian Champions Trophy on September 3 against Pakistan to which they lost in the final of them last year’s Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China.
After the Asian Champions Trophy the Malaysian player will feature in the Malaysian Hockey League which will be played from September 17 to October 23. The national team’s next assignment will be the Champions Challenge I which will be held in Johannesburg,
South Africa from November 26 to December 3 where eight teams will compete against each other for the title. The Malaysians are kept in Pool B along with Japan, Canada and Argentina while the Pool A includes New Zealand, Belgium and the hosts, South Africa.
Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the MHF president, told that they have set a target in their mind to finish in the top four teams in the Asian Champions Trophy.
“It’s important tournament for the national team in preparation for the Olympic qualifiers next year. It’s also important for the national team to finish fifth to improve their world rankings,” Tengku Abdullah, the president of MHF, stated his views about
their target in the Asian Champions Trophy in Ordos, China.
He further stated that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) wants the merger of MHF and the MWHA (Malaysian Women’s Hockey Association) before the end of this year.
It will be interesting to see how the Malaysian team performs during this exciting tournament as they face some of the most competitive and talented teams in field hockey today. The team will be looking to put in a brilliant performance against last year’s
winner Pakistan.
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