Hockey Series Finals: Malaysia have China, Brazil, Italy for company

KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s hockey team have been drawn in Group B with China, Brazil and Italy for the 2019 International Hockey Federation (FIH) Series Finals, which will be held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil here from April 26 to May 4.

World No. 13 Malaysia will begin their campaign against Brazil (No. 27) on April 26, followed by China (No. 14) two days later before wrapping up their group fixtures against Italy (No. 32) on April 29 in the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

According to the draw posted on the FIH website, Group A comprises world No. 10 Canada, Austria (No. 19), Wales (No. 24) and another team yet to be confirmed following the withdrawal of Vanuatu.

The winners of each group will advance to the semi-finals, while the second and third-placed teams from both groups will meet in cross-over matchups to determine the other two semifinalists.

As only top two finishers of the Kuala Lumpur edition of the Series Finals will advance to the next round of the Olympic qualification at the end of this year, Malaysian Tigers head coach Roelant Oltmans clearly wants his men to grab the opportunity by winning the tournament.

“In the Series Finals, we cannot look down on our rivals, especially China, who did well in the 2018 World Cup (finishing 10th out of 16 teams).

“It’s also been a long time since we faced teams from Italy and Brazil. So, we need to get as much information as we can about these two sides,” he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) yesterday.

In the women’s Series Finals, to be held in Dublin from June 8-16, the Malaysian Tigress have been drawn in Group A with hosts Ireland, Czech Republic and Singapore, while Group B consists of South Korea, Scotland, Ukraine and France.

The Malaysian Tigress, ranked 22nd in the world, will begin their campaign against world No. 8 Ireland on June 8 before taking on Singapore (June 9) and the Czech Republic (June 11). - Bernama