The national hockey team have only one more match to go on their Britain Tour, after which the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) is their final hurdle for this year.
Of a scheduled total of six friendlies and four Test matches, Malaysia had played nine matches, and a rematch against France today will close their tour.
So far, the team have achieved one target in the Tests — beating Ireland 4-2, Wales 4-3 and Wales 3-1 again — to move up to 10th in the world rankings. The last time Malaysia were No 10 was in 2004.
France will be playing in a World Cup qualifier next week, and after the 1-1 draw against Malaysia two days ago, they are expected to come out all guns blazing against Arul Selvaraj's team today.
"We took all the matches seriously, no matter friendlies against club sides or Tests against national teams. This is because we need to instill a winning mentality in the team.
"The players' mental, emotional, and physical status were always primed and ready to win on the Tour." said coach Arul.
The national team started their tour with a warm-up against Old Georgians HC which ended 2-2, after which there was a marked improvement in performance.
"After the 1-1 draw against France, we held a shoot-out session and won it, so it was a good show of my players' mental strength to go for victory," said Arul.
The thrice postponed men's ACT has been fixed for Dec 14-22 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and it offers world ranking points.
The tournament, featuring hosts Bangladesh, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea and Malaysia, will be held at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium.
