It won’t be a drag for Razie as he prepares for his second W-Cup

KUALA LUMPUR:

Penalty corner specialist Muhd Razie Abdul Rahim is back in training for the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India, starting on Nov 28.

The 31-year-old defender suffered a hamstring injury in the Asian Games in Jakarta in August and did not feature in last month’s six-nation Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, Oman, where Malaysia finished third.

Razie’s services are crucial as he’s a vastly experienced defender and is also the country’s top drag flicker.

The Kuala Lumpur-born player was the top scorer for Malaysia in the Asian Games with 10 goals.

Malaysia lost to Japan 1-3 in a penalty shootout after both teams were tied 6-6 in the final.

Razie, who has represented Malaysia 252 times in tournaments since 2006, is glad to be back training for his second World Cup.

He played his first World Cup in The Hague, Holland, in 2014 and Malaysia finished a disappointing last among 12 countries.

Razie, who scored three goals in The Hague, said he has recovered from the injury and has a good chance of making the cut for the World Cup.

“I don’t feel any pain in my leg during training and I’m looking forward to being named for the World Cup,” said Razie before training at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

“Although I did not play in the Asian Champions Trophy in Oman, I watched all matches Malaysia played and I believe that we need to rectify all the errors in defence to make sure we’re ready for the World Cup,” said Razie, who is happy to train under new coach Roelant Oltmans.

The 64-year-old Dutchman was hired on Oct 1 to chart the fortunes of the Malaysian team after they failed to win the Asian Games gold medal to qualify automatically for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

There are 24 players in the training squad and Oltmans will name 20 on Monday.

Malaysia will play three friendly matches with New Zealand in Bukit Jalil on Nov 16, 20 and 22 before Oltmans names the final squad of 18 for the World Cup.

Malaysia will depart for India for the World Cup on Nov 25 and they play their opening Group D match against former world champions Holland on Dec 1.

Malaysia’s other opponents in Group D are Pakistan and Germany.

Sixteen teams feature in the World Cup and Group A comprises Argentina, France, New Zealand and Spain while reigning world champions Australia are drawn in Group B with China, England and Ireland. Belgium, India, South Africa and Canada make up Group C.