KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) is a yardstick on Malaysia’s hockey future, and in this year’s edition, coach Nor Saiful Zaini’s boys blew hot and cold to finish fifth.
With the SOJC being the only under-21 invitational tournament in the world, teams from across the globe look forward to going to Johor Baru just to play in it annually.
Malaysia emerged first in the
inaugural tournament in 2011, last
in 2012, and were silver medallists in 2013.
The boys, who also blew hot and cold initially under coach K. Dharmaraj, went on to finish fourth in the 2013 Junior World in New Delhi.
So, there is still hope for the current batch.
The SOJC squad have three players who can play in the 2021 Junior World Cup, while seven from the Youth Olympics are also eligible.
And with this initial set of 10 boys, Nor Saiful Zaini will be
tasked to qualify for the Junior World Cup, and then do better than the 2013 squad.
But Nor Saiful lamented the lack of exposure and the need for more international matches to make his charges match-ready.
His boys were guilty of ball watching and losing 2-1 to India, 6-1 to Australia, drawing 5-5 with New Zealand, losing 5-1to Britain before beating Japan 1-0.
They then peaked to beat New Zealand 6-2, but too late, in the fifth-sixth placing match.
“Yes, we played badly and only came together as a team in the late stages of the tournament.
“We could have done better but lacked international exposure, which we will need more of, to do well in the Junior World Cup qualifier,” said Nor Saiful.
And the right tonic would be if Malaysia's Under-18 squad beat India for gold at the ongoing Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
Akhimullah Anuar Esook bagged 20 goals in the Youth Olympics, and will be banked on to score in the final against India tomorrow.
