Malaysian squad fit and raring to go against Holland

THE Malaysian men’s hockey team are all ready for the biggest challenge in the World Cup after their third training session at the Kalinga Stadium.

A confident national coach Roelant Oltmans proudly declared that the players have adapted to the pitch and are eager to get into action.

“They enjoyed playing on the new turf and are in high spirit for the tournament. The players are all fine and don’t have any problems at the moment. They are fit and injury free. This is a good sign,” said Oltmans.

“We are looking forward to our first match of the tournament. The players are ready to face Holland although it is going to be a tough game,” said the Dutchman, who knows the strength and depth of the Holland team.

“The players have been focusing on direct penalty corner flicks. The have made a lot of progress in development and also in tournaments.

“The challenge will be on us to get the desired results against them,” added Oltmans, who is the oldest coach in the World Cup.

He added that the pressure is always on the stronger teams when they play weaker teams in the first match in a tournament as was evident when world No. 3 Belgium only managed a 2-1 win over No. 11 Canada in their opening match.

“Against Holland, we cannot allow them to play their fast-flowing game as once they dominate they can be very dangerous. We also have to make full use of the chances we create,” he added.

“So we have to rise to the occasion and put up a strong challenge against Holland,” said Oltmans after yesterday’s training session.

Muhd Razie Abdul Rahim and Faizal Saari were seen practising their penalty corner drag flicks and the challenge is for them to deliver the goals in the Holland match.