KUALA LUMPUR – The national women’s junior hockey squad intend to score at least a point against India in their second Group A match of the 2024 Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup in Al Amarat, Muscat, Oman tomorrow night.
Team head coach Lailin Abu Hassan cautioned that it would not be an easy task as India are the favourites, and can count on a strong team of quality players, but urged his players to be more focused and reduce possible mistakes that could cause them to lose out on the crucial one point.
“For our second match tomorrow against India, we will try to plan and analyse their strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully, the players will be more focused and don’t make mistakes that will pressure themselves.
“They should also focus and be confident in themselves in performing at their best according to our plans. Even though India has quality players, we are confident in the strengths we have,” he said in an audio file shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) today.
Malaysia won their first match against Thailand 3-0 yesterday and are currently second in Group A with three points, behind China on goal difference.
Five teams stand to qualify for the Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup in Chile next year based on their performance at this event. – December 8, 2024