KUALA LUMPUR: Legend Datuk Poon Fook Loke believes that Malaysia can create history in the Junior World Cup (JWC) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Dec 5-16.
The two-time Olympian said he was impressed by the juniors' performance against the national senior team in a friendly which ended in a 1-1 draw on Thursday.
Fook Loke, who played a key role in Malaysia finishing a laudable fourth in the 1975 World Cup, gave a pep talk to the Young Tigers at the National Stadium on Thursday, telling them that they have what it takes to rise to the occasion at the JWC.
"These juniors have potential and I want them to create history in the JWC," he said.
Fook Loke, 72, told the team to summon up the type of determination that saw Malaysia finishing fourth in the JWC in 1979 (Versailles), 1982 (Kuala Lumpur) and 2013 (New Delhi).
He said the juniors had shown a lot of improvement in every aspect of their game since the Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) last month.
"In the SoJC, they missed a lot of goals, their fitness and speed were not up to the mark. But in the last three weeks, the players did a lot of groundwork and overcame their shortcomings like indirect free hits, penalty corners and all other things which they did not do in the SoJC.
"I watched them in a friendly match and they put the national senior team under pressure by taking a 1-0 lead. They conceded six penalty corners but defended well by not allowing the seniors to score. It shows that there is a lot of improvement in the players.
"This team have given us a lot of hope, these players are so eager to learn.
"Let's give them full support and encouragement for the JWC. This team should go far. Give them room and don't run them down.
"They have done their homework. Give them all the support and seeing is believing,"
Fook Loke said Australian penalty corner specialist Chris Cello has also helped the juniors improve their penalty corner conversion rate.
"These are the experts we need to also guide our local coaches. The local coaches like Amin Rahim, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin and Baljit Singh are doing a good job. And I wish the team all the best for the JWC."