JOHOR BARU: The National Juniors still lack the mental strength and killer instinct.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah made this observation after watching the juniors go down 3-0 to India in the Sultan of Johor Cup final match at the Taman Daya Stadium on Sunday.
“I congratulate the team for reaching the final, but there’s very little time left before the Junior World Cup begins (in New Delhi in December).
“The coaches need to focus on two important areas. One is the mental side and other is the killer instinct to make sure sitters and penalty corners are not wasted,” said Tengku Abdullah.
Malaysia did well to reach the final here with four wins and a draw. They beat Argentina (4-2), South Korea (5-1), Pakistan (4-2) and England (3-1) and drew 3-3 with India.
For Tengku Abdullah, he has set a top five target for the team in New Delhi.
“After watching them play in the final, I still have faith in the team to achieve the target,” said Tengku Abdullah.
Coach K. Dharmaraj believes he still has time to whip his team into a cohesive and powerful unit.
“The players are only 80% ready for the Junior World Cup. We still need to work on our penalty corners. We will rectify all our weaknesses by the time the World Cup starts. By then, we should be ready to push for the top five finish,” said Dharmaraj.
Dharmaraj, however, was annoyed with his players’ performance in the final.
“The players picked up unnecessary yellow cards for failing to check their temper and it contributed to our loss.
“When you play a world class team like India, you can’t afford to pick up cards and be down to 10 or nine players.
“We were punished for that. We need to teach the players how to handle pressure and not lose their temper,” said Dharmaraj.
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