KUALA LUMPUR: Can the Speedy Tigers silence their critics by qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics or face another backlash?
Malaysia will be making their sixth attempt to qualify for the Olympics since the 2000 Sydney edition.
Things have not gone well for the national hockey team since their poor outing in the Hangzhou Asian Games in October where they finished a disappointing sixth.
And the Speedy Tigers failed to impress in their playing tour to New Zealand recently. They suffered three defeats (3-2, 2-0, 3-0) to the Black Sticks and got one draw (4-4). They only beat South Korea 2-1.
Coach Arul Selvaraj's men have been erratic and lacked fighting spirit. They conceded more goals than they scored in the Asian Games and also in New Zealand.
Struggling with an ageing team and missing several injured key players, it looks uphill for Malaysia in the Olympic Qualifier in Oman from Jan 15-21.
Malaysia need to finish in the top three among eight teams in Oman to win a ticket to Paris.
Malaysia, ranked 12th in the world, will play No. 23 China on Jan 15, No. 4 Great Britain on Jan 16 and No. 16 Pakistan on Jan 18 in Group A.
Group B comprises world champions Germany, New Zealand, Canada and Chile.
There are 25 players in the training squad and three defenders - Najmi Farizal Jazlan, Amirul Hamizan Azahar and Najib Abu Hassan - are still nursing injuries.
Goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman said: "Despite all the problems we are facing, I still have faith in my teammates that they will rise to the occasion.
"The tournament in Oman is our last chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics, and we will go all out to achieve it and silence our critics."
The 31-year-old Hafizuddin, who has 102 caps, said: "We should beat China, whom we drew 4-4 in the Asian Games.
"But we will face a tough task against Great Britain, who are the strongest team in our group and who we have not beaten for many years.
"Our crucial match will be against Pakistan as both teams will be fighting for second spot in the group to qualify for semi-finals. It will be tough but not impossible to beat Pakistan," said Hafizuddin.
In the Hangzhou Asian Games, Pakistan outplayed Malaysia 5-2.
