TWO weeks in Europe may sound like a holiday, but for Malaysia’s Over-65 hockey players, their trip to the World Masters Hockey World Cup in Breda, the Netherlands, is a serious sporting assignment.
“When we go onto the pitch, we are playing for the country and we give our best,” said forward Thomas Mathew, 65.
Malaysia’s Over-65 (O65) men’s hockey team is competing against 16 other national sides at the tournament, which runs until Aug 16.
The team will face the Netherlands in its opening match today.
“It is a very serious affair. We take part every two years,” said coach James Murthy, 67, when met at Tun Razak Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur before the team set off.
“Malaysia’s other opening-stage opponents are Scotland, Italy and Canada, with the top eight sides advancing to the quarter-finals,” he said.
James said the team was targeting a place in the last eight, while a semi-final appearance would be regarded as a bonus.
Malaysia will be seeking to improve on its performance at the 2024 O65 World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, where it finished 10th with three victories and four defeats.
The team began training in January, initially once a week before increasing its sessions to twice a week.
James said preparations were challenging, as several players had to travel hours from Seremban in Negri Sembilan, Ipoh (Perak) and Penang to train with those based in Kuala Lumpur before heading straight back home.
Injury and work commitments also forced a few late squad reshuffles.
However, James said he was encouraged after the team defeated a younger college side 5-2 in one of its final practice matches.
He has changed the team’s playing structure to reduce the physical burden on the players and provide greater protection against counter-attacks.
Frequent substitutions will also be important, particularly for the forwards and midfielders, to allow recovery time during matches.
Captain Inderjit Singh, 65, said fitness, stamina and injury management would be the team’s main challenges in Breda.
“At this age, players tend to get injured and our recovery rate is quite slow.”
Inderjit, a former Armed Forces hockey captain, is competing in his sixth Masters World Cup.
His best result came in Tokyo, Japan, in 2022, when Malaysia won a bronze medal in the O60 category.
He believes the O65 team can reach the semi-finals, although qualifying for the quarter-finals remained the immediate objective.
Inderjit said age could narrow some of the differences between teams, placing greater emphasis on endurance and ability to remain injury-free.
Thomas said the players prepared by managing their weight and strengthening their knees, calves and backs.
The oldest player in the squad is Mohindar Singh at 72.
Thomas said the older players understood their physical limits and knew when to leave the pitch for a rest.
He added that while recovery took longer with age, the players’ competitive instincts remained unchanged, bolstered by extensive tournament experience.
James represented Malaysia from 1980 to 1985, playing in the 1982 Hockey World Cup in India before going on to coach the national men’s and women’s teams.
He coached Malaysia’s O65 team at the 2022 Tokyo tournament before returning as a player at the 2024 World Cup in Cape Town.
Team manager Khoo Kah Jin, 64, said the Breda campaign was expected to cost about RM200,000, including accommodation, airfares and local transport.
He said the Sultan Ahmad Shah Veteran Hockey Association (SAS), under which the team competes, contributed RM50,000, while additional sponsorship covered accommodation and part of transport costs.
However, players still had to fork out about RM3,500 each.
Khoo said this was a challenge for a squad that included retirees, with some receiving financial help from their families.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh also attended the team’s final training session and pledged RM10,000 towards its campaign.
