KUALA LUMPUR: The national women’s hockey squad will have to accept and live with the match schedule for the first round of the World Hockey Series in Singapore set to start on June 23 which some feel is against them.
This is because the national team are seen as favourites in the qualifying campaign for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and they will have to endure playing matches as early as 3pm, for their first two matches against Indonesia and Hong Kong.
The situation could prove difficult for the squad who are under K. Dharmaraj where they will have to play in the searing afternoon heat.
Dharmaraj however said that they are powerless to do anything because as the hosts, Singapore have the advantage of determining the match schedule.
"If possible of course we do not want to play at 3pm when it’s hot and humid.
"Perhaps it’s because we are a seeded team, the organisers might be trying to make things slightly difficult for us,” he said.
Dharmaraj stressed however that such instances are what they have to go through and face being a seeded team playing in another country.
"The same thing happened when we were hosts for the second round of the World Hockey League last year where teams from Europe had to play in the evening,” he said.
For Dharmaraj, playing under such uncomfortable circumstances will further burden his players, and he added the fact that their opponents will go all out to get the better of them since they are the favourites.
"Teams like Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand will all play to stay in the game and then launch counter-attacks to get the better of us. This is what worries us, but we will be ready for them.”
