Kuala Lumpur: The captain of the national men’s hockey squad, Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil, expressed confidence that the national squad is capable of pulling off a surprise in the World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India from 13 to 19 January next year , Referring to the article from Harian Metro today.
Marhan, who is also a player for the Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), also admitted that yesterday’s voting results gave positive signs for the Malaysian Tigers squad to finish in a better position in this edition.
However, he did not want to be overconfident and take it for granted, instead reminding the entire lineup to work harder for the biggest hockey tournament.
“I am very confident with the vote for the World Cup this time. I see there are positive signs for the national squad to be able to finish the tournament in a high position.
“But, for me that is not something that can be taken lightly. What is important is that each player needs to work harder to ensure that this time they can reach a higher level,” he said.
The draw for the 2023 Hockey World Cup campaign, yesterday saw the Malaysian Tigers squad drawn in group C together with the third ranked team in the world, the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, the other two countries that will compete with Arul Selvaraj’s squad are New Zealand and Chile, who will make their debut in the Hockey World Cup.
Earlier, the Malaysian Tigers confirmed their ticket to the 2023 World Cup after emerging as runners-up in the Asian Cup last May and this is the ninth time Malaysia has qualified for the World Cup with the best achievement being fourth place in 1975.
