PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian hockey team has unfinished business with New Zealand as they begin their 2025 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup campaign against the Kiwis on Saturday (Nov 22).
The Speedy Tigers recently fell to New Zealand on home soil during the Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur, going down 4-3 in the group stage in June. At last year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, New Zealand had also defeated Malaysia 3-2 to secure the bronze medal.
This year, Malaysia coach Sarjit Singh would be aiming for a better finish as the team was boosted by the return of veteran Faizal Saari, who made a U-turn on his retirement in February to be back in the team for the tournament at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh.
"We don’t want to put any pressure on our players. Every team here want to do well," said Sarjit during the pre-tournament press conference on Friday (Nov 21).
"For the past 17 months, our target has been the Asian Games.
"We are trying to rotate the players around and have brought in two new players.
"With the return of Faizal, the team will be built around the experience of four senior players, including captain Marhan Jalil, Fitri Saari and Faiz Halmi Jali."
This year’s edition would be without 2024 champions Japan and runners-up Pakistan, but would feature powerhouses Belgium, India, Canada and South Korea.
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Sam Lane said the team hope to continue their good times in Malaysia after defending their Nations Cup title in June.
"This year we’ve had a good time in Malaysia for the Nations Cup, and that gave us a good indication of how we’re playing," said Lane.
"But there are a lot of us who are coming from our domestic league. That’s still going on, so we’re all a little desynchronised because we don’t train together often.
"So we want to make sure that we perform well and develop further as a team."
