STAYING DEADLY
Van Huizen’s men aim to keep their edge over rivals
THE primary objective for coach Stephen van Huizen and his men in the Asia Cup starting today in Dhaka is to remain as a potent force, heading into the Asian Games next year.
Indonesia will host the Asian Games in August 2018, and a gold medal in hockey is a direct entry into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
For the record, the Malaysian hockey team last competed in the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
“We have beaten India, South Korea and China this year and our aim in Dhaka would be to maintain our grip on these teams.
“My players have worked very hard to achieve these wins, and it would be fruitless if we let them beat us in the Asia Cup,” said van Huizen.
Maintaining their superiority in Dhaka will give the Malaysians an added boost if they meet their rivals again in the Asian Games.
“The goals for next year are the Commonwealth and Asian Games and the first step is to challenge all the Asian countries in Dhaka.
“If we manage to play in the final, which is what we are looking for, it will give us a psychological boost when we face them again in the Jakarta Asian Games.
“We have not played in the Olympics since Sydney, and the Asian Games is a very good platform to get back into the top-10 bracket in the world,” said van Huizen.
Tokyo will host only 12 teams, unlike 16 teams at the World Cup, and Malaysia’s two chances to qualify will be from the Asian Games and the World League.
Van Huizen’s men beat China to the gold in the World League Round Two in Dhaka, and in the World League Semi-finals in London Malaysia beat China, South Korea and India to finish fourth and qualify for the World Cup.
“It’s not going to be easy even though we have had a very good outing at the Maulana Bhasani Stadium when we beat China to the gold medal.
“The players know the pitch, as well as the weather (hazy) in Dhaka and after eliminating these issues, they only need to play their normal game and I believe the goals will come,” said van Huizen.
“The tournament’s favourites are World No 6 India.
However, India, Pakistan and Malaysia have qualified for the World Cup and the pressure will be on South Korea, Japan and China to win the gold.
Only the gold medallists get an entry into the World Cup, but if either Malaysia, India or Pakistan win in Dhaka, the door will open for the highest ranked team that have yet to qualify from the London and South Africa World League Semi-finals.