Juniors get to assess strength of World Cup foes during tour

The National Juniors will get a chance to assess the strength of the Spanish and England teams during a four-nation hockey meet in Germany in April.

The tournament from April 8-12 is also part of the Malaysian team’s programme for their tour of Europe.

Spain and England are in Malaysia’s group in the Junior World Cup, which will be held in Johor Baru and Singapore from June 7-21. The other two teams in the group are the United States and South Korea.

National Juniors coach K. Rajan said the tournament would give them a good chance to assess the two European teams before the Junior World Cup.

“These two teams will certainly be among the main oppositions in our bid to finish in the top-two bracket of our group. Of course, they too will be taking notes of our team,” said Rajan, who added that the Juniors would also play friendly matches in Germany and Belgium during the tour.

The coach hoped the team can play at least eight quality matches in Europe.

Malaysia will most likely play two matches against Germany and three against the Belgians.

The National Juniors will also compete in a four-nation meet at the Junior World Cup tournament venue at Taman Daya in Johor Baru from March 11-15. The other teams in the fray are India, Pakistan and Singapore.

The Malaysian Hockey Federation’s (MHF) hopes of bringing in a European team for the meet has fallen through.

Rajan said the Juniors would shift their training base to Johor on March 2.

The Juniors were to have undergone an army training programme earlier this month but the MHF failed to make the arrangements.

Instead, physical trainer Behrad Honar Baksh from the National Institute of Sports (ISN) will work on their fitness. The Canadian has been working with the team since Feb 2.