KUALA LUMPUR: National men's hockey coach Sarjit Singh decided against declaring a target for his squad at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh on May 4-May 11, as he does not want to place unnecessary pressure on his players.
The six-nation tournament will be his first major assignment as national coach, a position he was appointed to earlier this month.
"I want my players to perform well and give it their best," said Sarjit today.
"The New Zealand squad, who will be competing at the Paris Olympics, will pose a threat to the other teams.
"We are not sure about the strength of the other teams. We don't know if they are bringing their top players or will be mixing their seniors with the juniors for the competition."
The national squad will open their campaign against Pakistan on May 4 followed by matches against Canada (May 5), New Zealand (May 7), Japan (May 8) and three-time champions South Korea (May 10).
The final will be held on May 11.
Sarjit has called up 46 players for centralised training. The squad will be whittled down to 30 by Monday.
The final 18-man squad will be named just before the tournament.
Malaysia will play a friendly with New Zealand on May 1 in Ipoh.
Malaysia won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for the first time in 2022.
The competition made its debut in 1983 but was not held last year.
