The tournament, which will be held until April 12 at the Azlan Shah Stadium here, will also see India, Egypt and New Zealand in the fray.
The former international defender had served as assistant coach to the National Juniors and the senior team from 2003-2007.
He was then made chief coach of the National Juniors in 2007 but quit after a run of poor results.
He had a short stint as assistant coach of the national women’s team last year before being handed his current assignment in January.
Although he was named as interim coach with Nor Saiful Zaini, Beng Hai has been given the mandate to handle the national team in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the Asia Cup next year.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) have put on hold their plans to hire a foreign coach so as to give Beng Hai a chance to prove his worth.
Simply put, Beng Hai can nail the job on a permanent basis if he manages to win the Asia Cup or, at least, perform well in both the meets.
A final in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is not a tall order considering the standard of the oppositions in the meet.
World No. 7 New Zealand are the top ranked team, followed by Pakistan (No. 8). Tenth-placed India are also potential finalists.
Beng Hai said he had no problem with the final as the immediate target.
“Frankly, the Asia Cup next month is the more important tournament. So we need to keep that objective in mind.
“The Azlan Shah Cup offers us a chance to take a closer look at India and Pakistan,” he said.
“This tournament will also help us to finalise our playing options and also to ensure that our structure is in place.”
The coach also stressed that the players in this team were not automatic choices for the Asia Cup.
“The 18 players will have a head start ... that’s all. There are other players who are still injured and have been left out as a precaution. I want all the players to understand that they cannot take their places for granted,” he added.
Among the injured players who are still very much in contention include Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Megat Azrafiq Megat Termizi and Mohd Radzie Abdul Rahim.
Beng Hai has also been working on his players’ fitness since taking over in January and he is happy to note their improved physical condition.
“Lots of time the lack of fitness has caused our downfall. “When players get tired, they tend to make mistakes. But we have put in a lot of work to build up their fitness levels,” he said.
Beng Hai is also aware that the three Asian teams will be using the tournament here to spy on their rivals ahead of next month’s Asia Cup.
The winner of the Asia Cup will get to play in the World Cup.
“The other teams will videotape the matches and try to see where our weaknesses are. We will be doing the same. I want to see good performances all-round and for the players to follow our style of play closely.
“Then we will know if we are heading in the right direction,” said Beng Hai, who also knows very well that he, and his team, will be under scrutiny and that the critics are just waiting to pounce on any shortcomings.
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