PETALING JAYA: The tight turnaround between the World Cup and Asian Games will pose a significant challenge, but hockey head coach Brendan Carolan (pic) believes it also presents valuable opportunities for growth.
The Speedy Tigers will have less than three weeks gap between the World Cup in Belgium from Aug 14-30 and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from Sept 19-Oct 4.
However, Carolan is focusing on the positives, with the team set to gain valuable exposures against elite oppositions at the World Cup ahead of the Asiad, which offer an Olympic spot to the gold medallists.
“The Asian Games and the Olympic qualification are our main targets,” said Carolan.
“So for us to have an opportunity to play the best teams in the world is ideal preparation before heading to Japan.
“We’ve got to look at the positives where we want to be playing the best teams in the world to make sure when we go to the Asian Games, it’s after getting the best preparation possible.”
World No. 15 Malaysia are in a tough Group B with giants Belgium (No. 2), Germany (No. 6), and France (No. 10) in the World Cup.
“The Malaysian group of players are a talented bunch attacking-wise, and I think if we can improve defensively to match up with those European teams, we’ve got a good chance,” he said.
“The more we play those top teams, the quicker we are able to close the gap and improve our rankings.”
Carolan will be leading Malaysia to their 10th World Cup appearance after taking over from former coach Sarjit Singh.
Sarjit, who took charge in March 2024, was not offered a contract extension after a series of disappointing performances saw Malaysia slip from world No. 13 to 15.
