Vietnam believe they stand a chance to bag a medal

VIETNAM is not a well-known hockey y playing nation.

To date, the Vietnamese took part in only one

SEA Games – i in Myanmar in 2013 – and failed to win any of their men’s field hockey matches.

They are back for the Aug 19-30 Kuala Lumpur Games, this time competing in the men’s indoor hockey.

And the Vietnamese believe they have a fighting chance to bag a medal since indoor hockey is making its debut in the Games.

Vietnam have former Singapore international James Chew, who is also an Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) hockey ambassador, as their coach.

Despite the Vietnamese’s lack of international experience, James is optimistic his team will do well.

“The game has been played in Vietnam for over 10 years. I believe we have a competitive team. We formed the national indoor hockey team back in 2013. We converted nine of the outdoor hockey players from the 2013 Myanmar Games squad into indoor hockey players,” said James.

Six teams are in the fray. Besides hosts Malaysia and Vietnam, the others are Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Vietnam will play their opening match against Indonesia on Aug 21. They will also play Malaysia on the same day.

Malaysia coach Mohamed Amin Rahim has warned his charges not to take Vietnam for granted.

“The Vietnamese are an unknown quantity.

“They are capable of springing some surprises.

“Indoor hockey is new to us and we don’t have a good history in the sport either.

“The one thing we have going for us is that our players are all wellversed in hockey skills and should be able to mount a strong challenge,” said Amin, a former Malaysian outdoor hockey international.