Army training for national juniors unlikely

A proposed one-month long army training for the national junior hockey team is unlikely to materialise.

The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) secretariat has not made any arrangements although it was announced that the team will start the training this month.

National Juniors’ coach K. Rajan has now turned to National Sports Institute’s (NSI) physical and conditioning coach Behrad Honar Baksh to work on the players for the next four months.

The Canadian expert started work with the team last week and will stay with them until the Junior World Cup in Johor Baru from June 7-21.

“I do not know about the proposed army training as this was supposed to be arranged by the MHF.

“But for us the main thing is that we have an expert on board and he will give us the edge we need in preparing the team physically. He has made an assessment of the players last week and will prepare a comprehensive programme for them to follow.

“I am happy that he will be able to work with us until the Junior World Cup,” said Rajan.

The Juniors have also started on a series of practice matches with the senior team since Monday. The matches will be held three times a week.

In the first match on Monday the seniors won 6-3. On Wednesday the teams drew 4-4.

“The results are not important.

“For me the main thing is for the players to keep up their game structure and gain exposure.

“These matches give me the chance to evaluate the players and also work on their weaknesses.

“There was a distinct improvement in the second match and we need to keep that up. Consistency will be crucial in the Junior World Cup,” he added.

In the Junior World Cup, Malaysia are grouped with Spain, England, South Korea and the United States for the preliminary round.

The 20-team tournament will be jointly hosted by Malaysia and Singapore.