Not smart enough
Oltmans: My players don’t know how to play clever hockey
MALAYSIA were the odd team out. They were the only Asian team among the four who did not make it to the second round in the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.
The three are India, who topped their group to qualify for the quarter-finals while Pakistan and China finished third in their respective groups to make the second round of the tournament.
It was not surprising that Malaysia’s Dutch coach, the 64-yearold Roeland Oltmans, did not minced his words in his appraisal of the team’s poor displays.
Oltmans had set a top 10 target in the World Cup but he was clearly disappointed.
“In the match against Germany, we were 4- 3 down and we had a chance to equalise off a penalty corner we earned in the fourth quarter but we blew it. Instead Germany’s quick counter- attack yielded a fifth goal for a 5- 3 win.
“That is really frustrating. My players don’t know how to play clever hockey like the European teams,” said Oltmans, who took charge of the national squad on Oct 1.
Oltmans added that the defence also crumbled when they are under pressure.
“We also lacked the experience playing against the top European teams like Holland, Germany and Belgium.
“These teams are far more superior and we need to play as many matches as possible with them to build up our confidence and narrow the gap in standard.
“Nevertheless I’m convinced we will learn from this tournament and come back stronger,” said Oltmans.
Malaysia, ranked 12th in the world, were thrashed 7-0 by Holland in their opening match. They then drew 1-1 with Pakistan who are ranked 13th.
Against world No. 6 Germany, Malaysia were trailing 3-0 before they fought back to lose 3-5.
The last time Malaysia won a match at the World Cup was 16 years ago when they beat Cuba 4-2 in the Kuala Lumpur edition in 2002.
What was really evident was that the players did not possess the passion to play their hearts out and these few should not even be in the national team.
Judging by the way the team played in the World Cup, it is highly unlikely that Malaysia will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Oltmans gave a negative reply when asked if they were indications of players quitting the team after the dismal World Cup outing.
“The players would be given a break to play in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) which begins in January. I will pick a team for next year’s tournaments and our main aim is to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games,” said Oltmans.
Malaysia will feature in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh from March 24 to April 1 and will also host the World Series at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil from April 23- May 1.