The Malaysian Juniors arrived in Lucknow at noon on Tuesday from Kuala Lumpur after a 10-hour transit in New Delhi to a warm reception by organisers of the Uttar Pradesh Hockey Junior World Cup Men, Lucknow 2016.
A grand party greeted the Malaysians led by Lucknow Regional Sports Officer S. S. Mishra, Lucknow District Sports Officer and head coach of the Indian national women’s volleyball team Sadhna Singh and national volleyball player Anchal Tomar upon arrival at the airport.
The mood in the Malaysian camp is one full of excitement.
Five hours upon arrival they played a friendly match against the Canadians. Whilst the juniors won 1-0 amidst the mild to heavy smog surrounding the city due to the cold weather with temperatures ranging from 16-20 degrees as night falls, the results don’t matter at all, not at this acclimatising period.
“It is very cold here and the players got the first feel of the chilling air. But they are used to it having played in similar conditions in other countries. We just need to put on more warm clothes,” said Malaysian juniors head coach Wallace Tan after the match ended at close to 11pm Malaysian time.
“We did not push hard and neither did the Canadians. It was just to get use to the weather and warm-up session. All the players are getting around well understanding that we are here in the Junior World Cup. The individual target is to perform well. No pressure.”
Malaysia’s friendly against the Canadians also took a deep interest among locals’ who were keen to see how Malaysians look! They must have been used to seeing Europeans all over this former British colony for decades.
The Malaysians are in Group B with Netherlands, Belgium and Egypt who arrived here in Lucknow as junior continental champions of Africa thanks to their success at the Junior African Cup 2016 in Windhoek, Namibia.
Malaysia’s first match is against Netherlands on Dec 9 at 8pm local time (10.30pm in Malaysia) followed by Egypt (11 Dec) and Belgium on 12 December. The curtains to the Junior World Cup go up on Thursday (Dec 8) with Group C matches involving New Zealand-Japan and Germany-Spain while Group D will be England-South Africa and host India and Canada.
Wallace Tan’s Juniors were on Monday given a warm send-off at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport by Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president, Dato’ Sri Subahan Kamal who was accompanied by MHC senior deputy president Dr Prof S. Shamala, MHC vice-president and chairman of coaching committee Datuk Ow Soon Kooi and national senior team head coach Stephen van Huizen.
The motivational talk by the MHC president was well received and inspiring enough for the players to put up a decent show here in the wake of the late invitation by the International Hockey Federation for the 16-team Junior World Cup.
Though expectations are always high among Malaysian hockey fans whenever the juniors compete in high-level international tournament, it would, however, be wiser to for fans to be realistic and pragmatic following current scenario.
What this young players need is complete dosage of motivation to go out there and play at best. Negative thoughts by armchair critics are best kept in the incinerator.
“Unlike the 15 teams who have qualified and been playing in international tournaments in preparation for the Junior World Cup, we have been doing our own training programme after the Sultan of Johor Cup. Furthermore, all the players have been involved in many tournaments in the last three months with the senior team and development squad such as the Australian Hockey League, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, and the Asian Champions Trophy and of recent the SOJC,” reiterated Wallace Tan.
“We have not been lying idle as the team has been going through the motion from time to time and this opportunity of competing in the Junior World Cup will be good for the players and Malaysia in the long run. It is an experience worth all of it which comes just three weeks after the SOJC,” added Wallace.
Looking back, the Malaysians have been producing some strong performances in previous editions of the Junior World Cup, having come close to a podium finish on three different occasions, and in 2013, the team was beaten to the bronze medal by the Netherlands.
The majority of the players selected featured in the recent Sultan of Johor Cup, where Malaysia finished in fifth place. The team ended the competition with two successive victories over New Zealand, and will be aiming to continue that winning streak here.
“It will be like any other game for the boys. There is no pressure on us. We just need to stay calm and play to the structure,” added Wallace.
It is the second time that India has played host to the Men’s Junior World Cup, having also done so in 2013 when a young Christopher Rühr inspired Germany to a second successive title at the event in New Delhi. Germany are bidding for their third successive men’s Junior World Cup title, but face a battle against 15 of best junior nations on the planet, including Malaysia, if they are going to succeed.
The Netherlands, winners of the European Junior Nations Championship 2014 in Waterloo, Belgium, and have participated in each edition since the inaugural competition in 1979. Despite medalling on four occasions, the Dutch are still awaiting their first men’s Junior World Cup title, something that they will be determined to rectify here in Lucknow.
The team is full of talent, with Rio Olympian and 2016 FIH Rising Star of the Year nominee Jorrit Croon, captain Lars Balk and Thierry Brinkman – who competed at the 2013 Junior World Cup in Delhi and is the son of double Olympic gold medallist Jacques Brinkman – all having the ability to change games in an instant.
