Building for future

Interestingly, the experienced coach has also called up ten senior Oman team players for the camp and they are training along side the juniors.

“My idea is to build a new team with young players for the next year. That’s why I have called up these senior players. I am looking at the future,” he said.

Kurtz will be pruning the junior squad to 18 before their departure for Malaysia on November 8 and train there for a week before the start of the Junior Asia Cup.

“Before we leave for Malaysia, our juniors will be playing four practice matches with our senior national squad,” he said.

“We will also be playing two friendly matches against two teams — Japan and China — who are not in our group,” the coach added. Oman will play Japan and China on November 11 and 12 respectively.

Speaking about Oman’s chances at the Junior Asia Cup, where Kurtz’s boys are placed in Pool B along South Korea, Pakistan and Bangladesh, he said: “The competition is going to be very tough. We have no illusions about that. But I am expecting the boys to give a good account of themselves against the fancied teams like South Korea and Pakistan.”

Asked whether he fancies Oman’s chances against Bangladesh, he said: “We will not take them lightly. They have ten players who play in their senior national squad.”

The coach also said it is going to be ‘very tough for us’ as ‘we will be starting our campaign with a match against South Korea’.

“We will take match by match. And see how it goes for us,” he said.

The eighth edition of the Junior Asia Cup, which also serves as the qualifying event for the 2016 FIH Junior World Cup, will take place at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan, Malaysia. Defending champions and hosts Malaysia are in Pool A with India, Japan and China.