KUALA LUMPUR – National men’s hockey head coach Arul Selvaraj has selected eight players from the junior hockey team to join the senior team camp in preparation for the Paris Olympics qualifiers.
The players were chosen based on their performance at the recently concluded FIH Men’s Junior World Cup.
Speaking to Scoop, Arul said the selected players would serve as backups for some senior players returning to the team after recovering from injuries.
“We have a total of eight to nine players making a comeback from injuries, and we need more players ready to fill their shoes if anything goes wrong.
“Initially, I invited ten players from the Junior World Cup to join the team, but only eight of them could join the camp as the remaining two players were unable to participate due to exams.
“The boys have the potential, and we hope to give our best in the qualifiers scheduled to take place next month,” said Arul.
A total of 18 players represented the Young Tigers at the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup held from December 5-16.
Under the guidance of Amin Rahim, the Young Tigers entered the tournament with hopes of reaching the quarterfinals but concluded their campaign in the 12th position with only two wins out of six games.
This marked their worst finish as the host of the tournament since the 2009 edition, where they also finished in the same position.
Malaysia has not featured in the Olympics since Sydney in 2000.
Malaysia finished sixth in the Asian Games and missed a direct Olympic qualification slot after their 5-2 defeat to Pakistan.
Malaysia’s only hope now is the qualifiers, scheduled to take place from January 15 to 21 in Oman.
Coach Arul’s charges are grouped together with Great Britain, Pakistan, and China in Pool A.
The Speedy Tigers are currently ranked 12th in the world rankings with 1881.87 points. – December 23, 2023