Dharmaraj’s women aim to join big guns

Malaysia were playing the waiting game on rest day in the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Donghae, South Korea, yesterday, coach K. Dharmaraj was pondering the future of his charges.

The Malaysian women’s hockey team have closed the gap on their Asian counterparts and are no longer punching bags for India, China, South Korea and Japan.

Dharmaraj’s women, ranked 22nd in the world and fifth in Asia, gave a tough fight to all four teams in the ongoing ACT, and if China beat Japan today, Malaysia will play for the bronze medal.

India and South Korea have qualified for the final.

Malaysia started with a 3-1 defeat to South Korea, lost to India 3-2, before beating Japan 3-2 and losing to China 3-1.

“The margin of defeat is very close and I believe we have narrowed the gap on our Asian counterparts. The coaches from India, China, Korea and Japan feel we are the team to watch after being the punching bag for more than 20 years,” said Dharmaraj.

And all the teams in Donghae have brought their best players. “Every team here came with their World Cup squad except Japan who have three players in the Netherlands League and another five back home.

“In the 2016 ACT, we also beat Japan who brought their full squad, and this indicated consistency.”

The Malaysian Hockey Confederation announced on Thursday their plans to bid for the 2022 women’s and men’s World Cups.

Dharmaraj, who had completely rebuilt the women’s squad in two-and-a-half years, said his side could be groomed to finish 7th or 8th if Malaysia host the 2022 World Cup.

“It’s easier to move up in women’s hockey than in men’s and if we get to host the 2022 World Cup, it would be a dream come true for our ladies (who have yet to play at that level).

“With proper planning, we can finish 7th or 8th as hosts.”

This prediction came from a coach who trained a bunch of nohopers, and took them to a silver medal finish at the Kuala Lumpur World League Round Two last year.