BHUBANESWAR: The boys have made the nation proud and the team have shown that they can be among the best, says national hockey coach A. Arulselvaraj.
But for that to continue, he believes the Speedy Tigers will need more high-level exposure to close the gap with the best in world hockey.
On Sunday (Jan 22), world No. 9 Malaysia lost to world No. 10 Spain 4-3 in a penalty shootout after holding each other out 2-2 in their World Cup crossover match at the Kalinga Stadium here.
Arulselvaraj did not take a despondent stance during the press conference, instead, he wanted to look forward.
"I am proud of the boys. The way they played showed hunger and desire till the end. As a coach, I can't ask for more," he said.
"But Spain, as we all know, the level of exposure they have had over the years with the Pro League and continuous Olympics outings, so in terms of development, we are behind them.
"And for our guys to put up such a fight against a side like Spain, it's immense. I think it's evident that if this particular Malaysian team are given more exposure to play against Belgium and Australia, they will get better."
Malaysia’s campaign in the World Cup has not ended yet, as they will play matches in the ninth-16th classification stage, where they first take on South Africa on Jan 26.
