Lucknow, 6 December 2016: The Malaysian national team arrived at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport hoping to make the most of the opportunity to participate at the Uttar Pradesh Hockey Junior World Cup Men 2016 to be played here at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium.

Malaysia hope to make World Cup opportunity count

On their arrival, Malaysian team Head Coach highlighted that his team was excited on hearing about their inclusion in the Junior World Cup. “We have just played a U-21 tournament in November and the team has been practicing together for a while. But when we were told by the FIH that we would be participating in the World Cup, the team was obviously excited and this is a huge opportunity for them. Some of them are also part of the development program and this experience will help them improve in a great way,” stated Wallace Tan.

Malaysian team’s recent performance at the 2016 Sultan of Johor Cup was encouraging and they will be aiming at improving their record in the Junior World Cup where they have finished fourth on four occasions. Speaking about Pool B where they are grouped with The Netherlands, Belgium and Egypt, the coach admitted that it will be a tough challenge for them. “We are in a difficult group as all teams are tough but we are prepared for the challenge,” he said.

Malaysia will play their first match against the Dutch on December 9. Malaysia was the last and final team to arrive here at Lucknow where the stage is set for the Uttar Pradesh Hockey Junior World Cup Lucknow 2016 which will begin on December 8.

Tags: Hockey, Junior Hockey World Cup 2016, Junior World Cup, Malaysia