THE YEAR 2026 IS AN IMPORTANT YEAR FOR MALAYSIAN HOCKEY—WORLD CUP & LA OLYMPICS 5 DAYS TO GO – 2026 FIH HOCKEY WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS WRITTEN BY MANINDERJIT SINGH (MIKE)

5 DAYS TO GO – 2026 FIH HOCKEY WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

WRITTEN BY MANINDERJIT SINGH (MIKE)

 Warm greetings & Gong Xi Fa Chai…

The year 2026 is also known as the Fire Horse year. This year, 2026, will indicate the future of Malaysian hockey as the journey starts to the 2026 FIH World Cup and 2028 LA Olympics qualifications with other key events such as the World Cup in Aug, Asian Games in September, Nation Cup in NZ in June 2026, Asian Champions Trophy in Dec, and Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy in Nov with most likely a 4-nation tournament in Kuala Lumpur if we qualify to 2026 WC.

We have not been doing well at the senior and junior levels for the last decade—you can read up here for the overall summary. https://stickwithmike.blogspot.com/2025/12/malaysian-hockey-currently-where-are-we.html

Let’s get into THE FIH HOCKEY WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS.

The FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026 mark the final, decisive stage of the journey to the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026 (15 – 30 August). With 9 men’s and women’s teams already qualified, these tournaments will determine the remaining 7 nations that will earn their place at hockey’s biggest stage later this year:

- The top three teams from each tournament automatically qualify.

- Additionally, the highest world-ranked fourth-placed team across the events also earns a coveted World Cup berth.

FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers

From 1 to 14 March 2026

TEAMS 

City of Santiago, Chile

Women’s Competition

Pool A: Australia, Chile, France, Switzerland

Pool B: Japan, Ireland, Canada, Malaysia

Malaysian Women no any chance to qualify - more of going for exposure! Hope our ranking doesn't slide down further as the level of importance is at level 6 for World Ranking points - we have slide from 18th to 21 now...

Men’s Competition

Pool A: Chile, France, Wales, and Scotland Pool

B: Canada, Ireland, Korea, Poland

 

Ismailia, Egypt Men’s

Pool A: Egypt, England, Japan, USA

Pool B: Austria, China, Malaysia, Pakistan

 

Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Women’s Pool A: Austria, England, Italy, Korea

Women’s Pool B: India, Scotland, Uruguay, Wales

 

Malaysian Hockey Team Chances

Spoke to many former Internationals, and they don’t sound good, as many lack the confidence of current team performance over the years. My view is thanks to FIH for still maintaining the 16-team World Cup format; if it were 12 teams, for sure we wouldn’t qualify. But 16 teams with our current ranking at 13th, we should easily qualify, but many are concerned with the opening match against Austria, which is known as an indoor nation, and the fast-improving China team and Pakistan; after playing in the Pro League, for sure they’ve improved even with their ongoing "drama."

Let’s discuss Pool B teams—Austria, Pakistan & China.

Based on Malaysian Time:

1 Mar 2026, 7:00pm          MAS v AUT (B) 

2 Mar 2026 7.00pm PAK v MAS (B)

4 Mar 2026 10.00 pm MAS v CHN (B)

All these teams for sure want to qualify. The first objective is for sure to make the semifinals first—any team with 6 points (2 wins) and good GD will make it. But the second key objective is to top Pool B to avoid England in the SF, and most likely Japan will be second in Pool A and have a better chance to make the finals. And our coaches & MHC have put a target of being in the finals—to do that, we must beat Austria, Pakistan, and China, but it is a tough call. For sure our head coach, who has never played in any World Cup, wants the team to qualify, and at least the players will have a taste of playing in a World Cup and will be included in the CV of players.

Even the Malaysian team has engaged Brendan Carolan as one of the assistant coaches (without any PC and introduction by MHC, which normally they always do), who also applied for the head coaching job after the debacle of failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics and finishing 6th in the Asian Games 2023, where he was also an assistant to Arul. How come now he is involved again in the system unless our current coaches do not know what to do about the tactics of matches at international competitions? We have used close to 20 or more foreign experts since 2015 and didn’t get the results, and yet we have been chasing the Olympic dreams since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

But what happens if we fumble in the opening match against Austria? In the last head-to-head in the KL Nation Cup, Malaysia beat Austria 5-4, leading comfortably 4-1. Austria plays a European style of play, and the opening match is always a difficult match, and both teams will try to avoid the jittery start.

My view—we must steal a point against Pakistan (Oltmans decided not to coach & Junaid is appointed as head coach), and the last match against China will be the decider whether we are in the SF or top group B. China has invested a lot in their program by getting the world's best coaches, such as Farry, Michel & Jason Duff, and also had a playing tour to Australia.

Once we get into SF—based on rankings, even if we finish 4th—we still have a good chance to qualify, as in my view, our ranking is better than Korea's and Canada's. The highest world-ranked, fourth-placed team across the events also earns a coveted World Cup berth.

We should qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but my question is what will be our standing in the World Cups, as the last 2 editions we finished 2nd last—15th place out of 16 teams. The best 2 positions were 4th in 1975 and 8th place in the 2002 WC. We must break into the top 10 bracket and avoid the syndrome of “participating team capacity."

As for the LA 28 Olympics, there are 2 doors: the 1st door is gold in the 2026 Asian Games, and the 2nd door is FIH Olympic Qualification in early 2028, but there are 12 teams. In my view, there is no chance for the Malaysian team to qualify for LA 28, as the USA as a host has taken a slot with 5 continental champions and left 6 slots at FIH Olympic Qualifications. And our spine structure in the team—Hafizudin, Marhan, Faiz, Fitri & Faizal are aging with an average age of 35 years old—to push another 2-3 years, I doubt it, as our junior cycles of 2021, 2023, & 2025 Junior World Cup players are low in quality for international competitions such as Olympic/World Cup qualifiers, the World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games, as our pathway and mindset are just producing national players and not international players. That's why we suffer at big events and survive at low-graded hockey events.

Heard that for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics—field hockey—the number of teams will be reduced from 12 to 10 teams.

And many will ask where to watch these FIH World Cup Qualifiers—at the moment, it is only via the FIH Watch Hockey app, as Astro is still negotiating with FIH on the rights. Will keep you all posted.

Wishing our Malaysian hockey team the very best and hoping that we qualify for the 2026 FIH World Cup, as many are saying that we wouldn’t get there and our hockey is at a beyond-repair stage at the international stage.

Godspeed…

Maninderjit Singh (Mike)

P/S - Q: What happens if we do not qualify? – Doomed! Is there a plan B by MHC or a wait-and-see situation…currently, all the affiliates are also pursuing to amend a clause for additional term for post (as expiring in 2027)- previously was max 2 terms then amended to 3 terms and now for 4th term. Suggest just remove that clause permanently as it doesn't make sense....just let the affiliates to decide the bearers in every cycle! 

 

Malaysian Hockey - Adapt or Be left Behind by K.Enbaraj

K Enbaraj is a former Malaysian international field hockey player known for his strong defensive play and powerful penalty corner hitting during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was one of Malaysia’s top penalty corner specialists, earning respect both domestically and internationally for his striking ability. 

In summary, K. Enbaraj is respected in Malaysian hockey history as a former national team stalwart, penalty corner expert, club player, coach, and contributor to coach development.

Please read his honest view on Malaysian Hockey as stated below...

Malaysian Hockey - Adapt or Be left Behind 

By K.Enbaraj

The future of Malaysian hockey is increasingly uncertain. While many factors contribute to this decline, the most critical—and least confronted issue is the player profile we are producing today.

Modern hockey, especially on artificial turf, is a game built on speed, power, and explosiveness. At the highest level, players rely heavily on fast-twitch muscle fibres, commonly linked to the ACTN3 gene. These fibres enable rapid acceleration, repeated sprinting, sharp directional changes, and high-intensity actions that define elite performance in today’s game.

For nearly two decades, Malaysia benefitted from a generation of players shaped not by sophisticated systems, but by their environment. Unstructured outdoor play, walking or running long distances, informal games, and physically demanding daily routines naturally developed movement efficiency, coordination, resilience, and explosive athletic traits. Many of these players arrived at formal hockey training already physically primed.

That reality no longer exists.

Covid-19 accelerated a shift that was already underway. Childhood has become increasingly sedentary. Screens have replaced physical play, social media has replaced social interaction, and video games have replaced spontaneous movement. Children today move less, sit more, and are exposed to structured sport later—often with weaker physical foundations and reduced movement literacy.

Yet, despite this profound environmental change, our player development systems remain largely unchanged.

We continue to train as if children still arrive with natural speed and explosiveness. We select players based on outdated physical benchmarks. We prioritise competition over development and expect coaching to compensate for years of lost movement exposure. In short, we are preparing players for a game that no longer exists, using methods designed for a generation that has disappeared.

This disconnect has consequences. At international level, Malaysian players struggle to match the repeated sprint ability, physical intensity, and explosiveness of top nations. The gap is not merely technique, tactical or technical—it is biological, developmental, and systemic.

If Malaysian hockey is to remain competitive, we must confront uncomfortable truths. Talent identification must evolve. Long-term athlete development models must be rewritten. Physical literacy, movement quality, and neuromuscular development must begin earlier and be prioritised over early results. Coaching education must reflect modern sport science, not tradition.

The global game is becoming faster, stronger, and more unforgiving. Without acknowledging how the modern environment has reshaped our athletes—and without adapting accordingly—Malaysian hockey will not merely fall behind. It risks becoming irrelevant.

Happy New Year! 

Thank You

K Enbaraj