Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) will not set any target for the national men’s junior team in the 12th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup.
MHC President Dato Sri Subahan Kamal said it is the aspiration of the national governing body that the Young Tigers make a strong impact in the SOJC that commences on Oct 18-26 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru.
“The SOJC will be a good platform to prepare the team for the Junior Asia Cup in November which is a qualifying tournament for the 2025 World Cup in India,” said Subahan during the launch of the SOJC at Fraser Place Puteri Harbour, Iskandar Puteri today.
“As president, I would like to see this team give their best performance and gain the experience and exposure. All the teams are strong and we want them to play well and be prepared for the next stage – Junior Asia Cup, in Oman,” he added.
“They will be playing against strong teams in the SOJC and the need to set their preparations in motion. We are not setting any targets. Just give your best performance.
What is important is they prepare themselves for the high-level competition in the Junior Asia Cup and qualify for the 2025 World Cup in India,” he said.
Fans can expect top-class hockey from the future stars of players from Australia, Great Britain, India, Japan, New Zealand, and host Malaysia in this year’s SOJC competition.
The Young Tigers will open their campaign against New Zealand on Saturday (Oct 19), followed by matches against Japan (Oct 20), India (Oct 22), Great Britain (Oct 23) and Australia (Oct 25). The top two teams in the round-robin league format will play in the final while the third and fourth-placed teams will battle for the bronze medal.
For the record, in the inaugural SOJC tournament in 2011, Malaysia beat Australia 3-2 in the final after extra time.
India has been the most successful team in the SOJC, winning the title three times. They won in 2013, 2014, and 2022 and finished runners-up in 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2019. Great Britain has also won the title three times and runners-up in 2014, and 2017.
The other countries to have won the Sultan of Johor Cup are Australia (2016, 2017) and Germany in 2012 and last year.