Malaysia: 'Women better prepared now'
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| Malaysia |
May 23, 2005
New Straits Times
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By Ranjini Thangaraju
AFTER a one-year lapse, the national women's hockey team are well equipped to give India, China and Korea a run for their money in the Six Nation tournament in Seoul, Korea on June 9-16.
Malaysia last played against the three at the 2004 Asia Cup in India, where they lost 4-2 to the hosts, 7-1 to China and 4-1 to Korea.
Coach C.R. Kumar's squad are not looking for a podium finish but they are determined to give the Asian giants a serious run in the tournament this year.
And the reason they are so confident of an improved showing? The Malaysians have just returned as champions from the recent Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia where they were unbeaten in the preliminary matches and then beat Singapore Police 5-0 in the final.
Last month, on a playing tour of New Zealand, they won six of the seven matches they played against teams which included the Premier Club champions, Division One club champions and the NZ Under-21 side.
Malaysian Women's Hockey Association secretary, S. Shamala said, the team have improved tremendously since Indian coach Kumar took over two years ago.
"We are prepared to face them now. We might not emerge champions, but we are confident that the opponents will be surprised with our performance since they last played us," said Shamala.
"It is unrealistic to set a high target at this point, but we will use this tournament to assess our performance for the 2006 Asian and Commonwealth Games."
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