FIH OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION – MALAYSIAN MEN’S CHANCES AND KEY ELEMENTS THAT REQUIRES ATTENTION TO BE IN PARIS OLYMPICS…

FIH OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION – MALAYSIAN MEN’S CHANCES AND KEY ELEMENTS THAT REQUIRES ATTENTION TO BE IN PARIS OLYMPICS…

There are two doors to Paris Olympics. One was an easier door (Asian Games) but we failed and now to next door - FIH Olympics Qualification, combination of 16 teams each gender to fight for the last 6 slots.

The teams allocated to their respective venues, please find hereafter the composition of the Pools (A and B) for each FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier:

The top-3 men’s and women’s teams from each venue will qualify for the Olympics based on their classification at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024.

After the round robin matches in the pool stage, the top two teams in each pool will qualify for the semi-finals. The winning semi-finalists will be assured of a top-2 finish and qualify for the Olympic Games, while the losing semi-finalists will play the bronze medal match with the winner of that match also securing their ticket to Paris 2024.

Women

Valencia, Spain

Pool A: Belgium, Korea, Ireland, Ukraine

Pool B: Great Britain, Spain, Canada, Malaysia

 

Ranchi, India

Pool A: Germany, Japan, Chile, Czech Republic

Pool B: India, New Zealand, United States, Italy

 

Men

Valencia, Spain

Pool A: Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Ukraine

Pool B: Spain, Korea, Austria, Egypt 

 

Muscat, Oman

Pool A: Great Britain, Malaysia, Pakistan, China

Pool B: Germany, New Zealand, Canada, Chile

 

As for Malaysian Women, I believe this event will just be an exposure and do a situational analysis to gauge the standards against the world best. I think the best Malaysia Women could finish is 7^th in Valencia Qualifications.  Also, must be aware that there will be world rankings in play and every defeat or win/draw will have an implication on our rankings.

For the Men’s, as predicted before the announcement we are placed in a tough qualification in Muscat compare to Valencia is easier where Korea and Japan will have a good chance.

In Muscat, GB & Germany will finish top 3 and qualify to Paris Olympics. Last slot battle will be between New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan and Canada. Chile & China will be the spoilers in the both of the groups.

My view, Malaysia key obstacles will be Pakistan as they’re an improved side and beat us in the recent Asian Games Hangzhou by 5-2. Fore sure Pakistanis are also keen to steal points and get to SF for a chance to Paris Olympics.

Malaysia first key objective must make the semifinals. Then big battle against Germany in SF and mountain to climb. The other SF will be NZ vs GB. Only concern don’t NZ beat GB as they have a good record against GB. There could be a possible upset. If it happens, then 3/4^th will be GB vs Msia. Hoping for NZ in 3&4 where we have an equal chance to Paris Olympics. For the record in 2023 World Cup we have beaten NZ with 3-2 and won against Pak 3-1 in recent Asian Champions Trophy.

My view that the key areas that Malaysian Men teams that need to improve and focus are on the followings which is our most glaring weakness during the 2023 World Cup where we finish second last and then runners up in ACT and finally, one of the worst Asian Games – 6^th placing after losing to Korea, draw against China and defeat against Pak which saw we slide to 12^th in world hockey rankings and this forced the RTG to expel the team out of the program which I disagree as the panel should have hold the decision till end January 2023.

The areas of concern.

Goalkeeping – we still lack the stability and need a reliable consistency GK to keep the team in a match.

Penalty Corner Attack (PCA) – based on the calculations our PCA is very low hitting about 11-13% which means we need 6 to 7 PC to score a goal whereas the top nations their PCA ratio is about 25-30% - average every 3 PC a goal and depends on how many PC obtained. If 6-8 PC, they will score 2 or 3 goals to win the match as this is the right standards.

Penalty Corner Defense (PCD) – our average is 40-55% which means when top teams get average of 3 or 4 PC, they are able to score a goal. A good PCD ratio should be more than 60%.

Consistency in every quarter - we choose to play well either one or 2 quarters but to excel in international hockey, performance in every quarter is a prerequisite to obtain results.

Need to improve our diagonal attacking mini flicks to baseline (two push out areas left & right) as the 5m ruling is an advantage to the attackers and possession is the attacking D which creates massive attempt of scoring. Most top teams have mastered these attacking skills but we still yet to do so more frequently that one off or twice in a match.

We do well from BOD till 75m line but once in 23m attacking we lack the formation and combination of attackers to break the double defense team especially the T-Point entry of both sides. We need more creativity and usage of 3D skills and switching of TOP between sides. This area will indicate our Total Circle Penetration which leads to number of PC and Shot at Goal that finally will be the outcome of the match – no point having a high possession of play but didn’t get any results.

Another concern is the quality of bench depth as in modern hockey a rolling substitution program where 3 to 5 players are change in every 3-5 mins of play. When changes take place, realize the tempo and quality dips, therefore bench players quality must be the same with first eleven.

We have to avoid chasing matches syndrome (always going down against the opponent and never been commanding even with a weaker teams).

We need 3 or 4 style of play with unpredictable formation if we want to excel and or win matches at international hockey. Spoken to many great Coaches, they said that Malaysian style of play is a very predictable one which allow opponents to take advantage as now we know most teams are using sports code Version 12 to breakdown the pattern and framework of segments and analyzing the weaknesses and strength of each team.

And another note – vital element that is going to be crucial in the coming FIH Olympics Qualification is the readiness and confidence of team to execute power-play when needed as my view we lack the trust and confidence in the set up on execution of such play when it matters most.

We need 8 players to be prepared to take Penalty Shoot-Out and this element will take place and will decide our fate in January soon. Therefore, more emphasize must be given to power-play and shoot-out till we mastered it.

Penalty Card Management – been seen that over 3 tournaments this year (2023 WC, ACT and Asian Games), average we are getting about 5 greens and 4 yellow cards where we play with less of players on the field average of 5 to 8 minutes pro rate per match. The emotional intelligence must be trained and controlled anger management among players must be addressed and assisted. The team must also undergo a drill when playing with less one or 2 players and how to manage the situation tactical with proper damage control methodology.

And I also disagree with the National Team touring to NZ as I believe NZ will be our main opponent for us to be in Paris Olympics. We should avoid this mind game among coaches and players and preferably a tour to Muscat to test the ground and understand the environment and get another 2 or 3 nations to play a 4 or 3 Nations at the venue will be more meaningful and provide greater test and benefit prior to main event.

Another biggest setback in the preparation is that about 10 players are injured and undergoing rehabilitation. Hope all will recover in time.

The Weather in Muscat in January is going to be between 17-25 degree Celsius and it will be cool and nice for teams to perform at their best.

Anyway, wishing the Malaysian Hockey Team the very best and have a good preparation towards to January Olympic Qualification and its now or never to be back in Olympics since 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Godspeed…

Maninderjit Singh (Mike)

Former International

 

  

MALAYSIAN MEN’S HOCKEY TEAM – SCENARIOS & CHANCES FOR FIH OLYMPICS QUALIFICATION

MALAYSIAN MEN’S HOCKEY TEAM – SCENARIOS & CHANCES FOR FIH OLYMPICS QUALIFICATION

Apology to all my dedicated readers for not writing for sometime and was only tweeting views.

Firstly, we failed miserably in the 19^th Asian Games after so many promises and hype that we will win the Gold and be in Paris 2024.

Prior to Asian Games, Arena called for an interview which was just 40 days away to Gold, raised many pertinent & prerequisite points for us to win the Gold. As usual even the Head Coach rebutted the points and it happened based on the valid points raised.

For those who are not aware of the interview, please click the link below and understand it well.

 https://x.com/astroarena/status/1691055063954063361?s=46&t=d48PnX2pOfqXiivX2RTAsw

We created history by finishing 6^th after losing to ill prepared and young Pakistan team without any proper plan and lack of funds but they had the determination and the will to win that match.

Overall, in the past 8 years, we have been sliding badly and couldn’t keep up with the competitive edge in world hockey. Even winning Sultan Azlan Shah Cup last year is not the true reflection of the success as all the invited teams are below par and it makes us easy to lift the trophy.

Even in the recent FIH Hockey World Cup 2023, we finished No 13 which is second last among the 16 teams as that is the real indication where we stand in world hockey as the 10^th ranking is an artificial testament because people do not understand the tabulations and new ranking methodology was only introduced in 2020 but due to Covid19 many events were postponed and ratio or number of matches among teams wasn’t equitable. The real reality check of the rankings will be known after Paris Olympics.

And even suggested to host 2023 SASC in Nov as this will allow us to be well prepared for FIH Olympics Qualification in January 2024 but they decided to postpone it with the reason that wanted to organize indoor events.

Now let’s look what is in store in January 2024 FIH Olympics Qualification:

The Process:

Spain’s Valencia will host one of the two men’s qualifying tournaments while the other will be held in Oman’s Muscat instead of Lahore in Pakistan.

Each Paris 2024 hockey qualifying tournament will feature eight teams and the top three teams from each of these FIH qualifying tournaments will make the cut for the Paris 2024 Games. A total of 12 teams per gender will play at the Summer Games next year.

The seedings and teams for the Olympic qualifiers will be determined after the end of all the continental championships taking place in 2023.

The winners of the men’s hockey tournaments at the five continental championships qualify directly for Paris 2024.

See image below:

 

Have suggested many times to bid for the Olympic Qualification rather than any other international events but they bid for Junior World Cup 2023 which is meaningless as we needed Qualification event such as Paris Olympics Qualification which the bid was open late Dec last year. But anyway, suddenly we realized when Pakistan withdrawal and Oman is substituted as we didn’t submit our bid when it was open last Dec/Jan 22/23. Oman was first standby.

We have targeted to play in Semifinal in 2023 KL Junior World Cup and will write about where we will finish in the next article when time permits.

Let’s get back to the Qualification.

Since we lost/draw 3 matches in a row against under ranked teams like China, Korea & Pakistan, we now stand at 12^th placing in world rankings and left with 2 more Continental Championships – Africa & Pan Am.

With that, we could already make about 80% of assumptions where we will play and who will be in our group.

 

Valencia               Muscat

Belgium                Great Britain

Spain                     Germany

Korea                    New Zealand

Ireland                  Malaysia

Canada/Jpn        Jpn/Canada

Pak/Egypt           Egypt/Pak

Austria                  China

Ukraine                Chile

 

Then the above 8 in each venue will be divided into 2 pools with SF & Finals with 3/4 placing and other classifications.

 

Based on the above details, then the grouping in Muscat, Oman will be the followings:

 

A                                             B

Great Britain                       Germany

Malaysia                              New Zealand

Jpn/Canada                        Pak/Egypt

Chile                                      China

 

It will be a Great Britain & Germany Finals.

Left last slot – 3^rd placing – it will be a fight between New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan or Canada, Pakistan or Egypt with Chile & China playing the spoilers in the pool matches.

Not easy to beat New Zealand in the Qualifiers.

Malaysia needs to get into semifinals and tough crossover Germany awaits and 3/4 placing awaits NZ which will be the decider.

And strange, the team is travelling to New Zealand in December for some international matches, suggest to not play as NZ will be your opponent and they may use their 2^nd team or rotate key players and the pool for qualification will be announced in mid Nov and don’t then you are caught in catch 22 situation.

And due to last minute planning, its tough to get any international matches as FIH Pro League commences soon.

Anyway, this piece is written to give the custodians and hockey lovers to understand the processes and where we may play and against who with the difficult pathway to Paris Olympics.

We had an easier door via Asian Games but we failed miserably after 2 years of preparation and many foreign consultants and easily spent close to 5 to 7 million but we only managed to finish 6^th in Asian Games and currently ranked 12^th in the World Hockey. Soon we may be 13-14 after Africa & Pan Am.

After the failure in the Asian Games, many were saying & pushing for changes but its not fair as we only have 2 months to FIH Qualification and it should be retained as we don’t have the luxurious time to make any amend.

If we failed in FIH Qualification in January 2024, then we are doomed as this team with more than 2300 International Caps and aging players, I believe this will be their “Last Dance”.

Wishing the very best to our Malaysian Hockey Team and hoping we will be in Paris Olympics.

Godspeed…

P/S 

– As Women Hockey, we finish better than men in Asian Games and the best that we could achieve is to play in the FIH Olympics Qualifications to gain exposure as we have a very slim chance to qualify to Paris Olympics. We will struggle as playing against the world best…

- Todays start the one of the Premier Domestic Hockey Tournament - Tun Abdul Razak Cup as no any National Senior & Junior players and Hockey 5s players are allowed to play, then it will be low key and poor in standard. It may be similar to Sukma Games with some retired aging players playing. It used to be a key tournament for hockey players to be selected to National Teams but not anymore as is organised to fulfill the yearly hockey calendar.  

TNBMHL23 & it's Future!

Congratulations to THT & Negeri Sembilan for winning treble and creating the history. 

Normally, after every MHL, there should be a post-mortem not to address the organisation aspect (we are known for best in organising events) but on how to improve the quality and increasing the domestic competitiveness to churn high quality international players, Coaches, TO and Umpires.

There must be new innovative ideas on how to enhance the League standards in which would be close to EHL standards. Might be privatising the League could be a good idea but this idea needs proper brainstorming and defining the duties and responsibilities between parties is a prerequisite prior to privatision.

On Coaching segment of MHL teams, there is a need for this Coaches to be updated with latest training methodology and modern hockey of play with sports science and usage of technology to make informed and real time decision. Most Coaches are playing the similar tactical and structure from start till the end of the League. This Coaches needs more exposure and Courses conducted by top renowned coaches.

The glaring tactical issues during MHL..

1. Lack the idea in PC Attack 

2. No variation in structural of play in each match

3. Most teams lack depth in bench

4. Goalkeeping aspect still poor

5. Similar play in all 4 quarters

6. No sheet on rolling subs timing

7. Depended too much on National Senior players to perform

8. Fitness strength was poor as rest in between a day is insufficient due to back to back.

9. Some players are overweight

10. Most teams played the same structure and pattern which easy to counter and not many of variations was implemented.

Overall the big top 3 - THT, TNB and Maybank overides the poor bottom 5 teams - NurInsafi, UiTM, Young Tigers, ATM and TNB Thunderbolt who are just in for participation and some teams should just play at state leagues.

Even at women segments, the gap is too wide between teams and which 2 teams KPT Uniten & N Sembilan are dominant due to engaging 7-9 National players. Women League needs a total overhaul and proper short and long-term approach.

 To certain extent, the Young Tigress did well and improved by matches. Young Tigers team needs serious soul searching as left with 7 months towards JWC 23 in KL which target is Semifinals.

It was a good idea to have both this teams to play in MHL23 as a team and allow the Coaches and support team to gauge the strength and weaknesses of the team.

The Organiser needs to:

1. Post-mortem - on quality and future

2. Rules - no away goal decision if playing same venue

3. More new teams - tough as we lack large pool of talented players anymore

4. Video Referral for all matches not only for Live.

5. More matches at League level min 3 rounds with 3 months event

6. Reduce Foreign players (just 2) to allow priority given to local talent but National player on the field should be unlimited - not 6 combined rules.

8. More Teams must give employment rather than playing contracts to stir the interest of other young players to play in MHL.

9. Quality & Pool of Umpires need to be enhanced and only about 6-8 good umpires we have at this juncture.

10. There is a need for MHL Div 2 to be the incubator and a stepping stone for small clubs to grow.

11. To have defined dates of MHL for 2024 & 2025 for teams to be well prepared and managing their budget & sponsorship.

12. Certain teams do not deserve to play in Premier League due to lack of competitiveness.

13. Demerit points to be reviewed depends on how many matches or round of league.

We hope the Organiser would take some suggestions and move forward to make our Malaysian Hockey League as one of the best Leagues in World hockey.

All stakeholders must look into these matters with an open heart with the interest of the sports...

We want Malaysian hockey to achieve the best in years to come and we have all the support and resources to do so.

Malaysia Boleh...

WHERE TO WATCH LIVE - 2023 FIH MENS HOCKEY WORLD CUP

The 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup will be the 15th edition of the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It will be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and at the under-construction 20,000 seat Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, India from 13 to 29 January 2023.

THERE IS 2 CATEGORIES - PARTICIPATING NATION & NON PARTICIPATING NATIONS.

AS FOR MALAYSIA, IT WILL BE SHOWN ON ASTRO AS OFFICIAL BROADCASTER, BUT STILL PENDING THE LIVE SCHDELUE FROM ASTRO WHICH MATCHES WILL BE SHOWN LIVE...

SEE BELOW THE IMAGES....

Wishing our Malaysian Team the very best...

Have fun folks...

Maninderjit Singh (Mike)

MALAYSIAN MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM - GROUPINGS, FORMAT & SCHEDULE - 2023 FIH ODISHA MEN'S HOCKEY WORLD CUP

The Groupings:

Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023

Group A: Australia, Argentina, France, South Africa

Group B: Belgium, Germany, South Korea, Japan

Group C: Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile

Group D: India, England, Spain, Wales

Format

As mentioned, 16 teams are divided into pools of four. The single round-robin format will decide the standings. Also, Toppers from each pool will directly go through to the Quarterfinal. While the remaining four teams will be decided through Crossovers. The rest will go on, as usual, i.e., quarterfinals, then semifinals, and finally the final. There will be classifications going on further down which will decide the exact position a team finishes the tournament.

Rules for pool classifications based on new tie-breaker rules.

Before moving to the knockouts, one should understand a complicated term called “Crossovers”. Crossovers can be seen as the pre-quarterfinals, except half the teams for the next round are already decided. This is something one can only see in Hockey. The second and third teams from each pool will form the four crossover fixtures. January 22 will see C2 vs D3 (Crossover 1) and C3 vs D2 (Crossover 2) while the next day will see A2 vs B3 (Crossover 3) and B2 vs A3 (Crossover 4). Crossover fixtures are abbreviated as C1, C2 etc.

The first quarterfinal will be played between A1 vs Winner C1. The second will be played between B1 vs winner C2 and so on. The winner of the first and fourth and second and third quarterfinals will face each other in the semifinal on January 27 at Kalinga Stadium.

The final and third-place encounters will take place on January 29 at the same venue.

Deciding rest positions

Fourth-placed teams of each pool and losers of each crossover will form M33-M36. The matchups will be like A4 vs Loser C1, B4 vs Loser C2 and so on. Losers of each of these games will face a one-off (L-M33 vs L-M34, L-M35 vs L-M36) to form the 13th-16th place classification. While the winners will face one-off to form the 9th-12th place classification. The order for that will be decided by the scoreline and margin of the result.

As for full event schedule kindly click the following link to see the standings, official scores etc.

https://www.fih.hockey/events/world-cup/men/fih-odisha-hockey-mens-world-cup-2023-bhubaneswar---rourkela-1389

Thanking you.

Maninderjit Singh (Mike)