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 7th 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 3/4th
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 – 6th
placing after losing to Korea, draw against China and defeat against Pak which
saw we slide to 12th 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
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