Malaysia to open SoJC campaign against Britain

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will open their Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) hockey campaign next month against Britain.

The tournament will be held at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru from Oct 22-29.

The week-long tournament will also see former champions India, Australia, the United States and Japan in the fray.

The Malaysian team, coached by Wallace Tan, will then face India on Oct 23, followed by Japan (Oct 25), US (Oct 26) and Australia (Oct 28).

Although the US are making their debut, it will be reigning Junior World Cup champions India and defending champions Australia who will be the star attractions.

Johor HA deputy president Datuk Manjit Abdullah said the tournament would see the introduction of the four-quarter format, in line with the requirements of the International Hockey Federation.

Britain will be the first team to arrive in Johor Baru – on Oct 17 – to play some matches against the Johor Razak Cup squad.

Besides Wallace, the other coaches han- dling the national team are Mohd Amin Rahim, Nor Saiful Zaini, Madzli Ikmar and M. Nadarajah.

“I have 30 players in the team and we have held several phases of training in preparation for the tournament,” said Wallace.

“Looking at the teams, it will be a tough tournament and the opening two matches will surely be a stern test for us.

“We will assemble the team again in late September and hold our final week of training in Johor a week before the tournament. Hopefully, we’ll get to play some friendlies.”