KUALA LUMPUR — The national hockey squad are on the right track to shine at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in China next month.
Former Australian striker Glenn Turner, who is currently here for a short stint to help the Speedy Tigers prepare for the Asiad, believes in the squad’s ability after they successfully proved themselves by becoming runners-up in the Asia Champions Trophy (ACT) 2023 in Chennai, India, earlier this month.
“I think they’re fitter, faster, more skilful than ever, so they should put on a good show at the Asian Games.
“But I think for this team to get to the Olympics, we need to score a lot of field goals and we need to convert our penalty corners.
“Today in training and also at the ACT, we managed to score the highest number of field goals, so I was really pleased to see that,” he said when met at the training session here, today.
As every tournament provides a different kind of pressure, Turner said the national players should always be positive and confident when performing on the field to achieve excellent results in the quadrennial Games.
The Asian Games champion will automatically qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, the National squad’s prolific goal scorer Faizal Saari feels the presence of Turner and another coach from Australia who was also a former Aussie striker, Kieren Govers, had assisted the team in the preparations that have reached about 80%.
“Everyone knows the coaches because they were world champions before. We have learned a lot since they arrived here and the achievement at the ACT is proof of their guidance, especially scoring field goals using the right technique.
“Both emphasised on attack in terms of possession and ways to score goals from all areas,” he said.
The Speedy Tigers are expected to fly off to Hangzhou on September 20 while Malaysia are drawn in Group B together with South Korea, China, Oman, Thailand and Indonesia.
Favourites India are in Group A with Japan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore and Uzbekistan.
Only the top two teams qualify for the semifinals.
Malaysia’s best achievement in the Asian Games was winning silver medals at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou and the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang.
The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games is scheduled from September 23 to October 8. — August 25, 2023