KUALA LUMPUR: Overwhelmed by disappointment after missing the Junior World Cup (JWC) medal round, the Belgium team, led by coach Jeroen Baart, embarked on a unique healing journey.
To ease their pain, Baart took his players to the Batu Caves temple in Kuala Lumpur and treated them to authentic Malaysian cuisine a day after the 1-1 draw against Pakistan in their final Group D fixture to finish third in the pool.
Baart hopes the unconventional approach will help the Belgians refocus and achieve their new mission — securing the ninth position overall.
Baart and his players left behind their sorrows as they climbed 272 steps up the Batu Caves temple, an experience Baart described during a press conference: "My players are disappointed that they were knocked out of the medal round, so I took them to the Cave Temple.
"While I was panting all the way, my players ran up the high steps to the beautiful cave at its end.
"There were many monkeys along the climb, and they were mesmerising as well.
"After that, we ate Malaysian food outside our hotel for the first time, and it was delicious."
After hammering Canada 12-0 in the ninth-16 classification match on Monday, Baart revealed his thoughts on their next opponent, Malaysia.
For the record, Malaysia held Belgium 1-1 in a group stage match of the 2021 Bhubaneswar edition to advance to the quarter-finals.
"That Malaysian team was stronger. The current team lack discipline in attack and have a loose defensive structure," said Baart.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian team trained as usual today under the watchful eyes of coach Amin Rahim. He is working to improve his team's penalty corner execution and defence.
"Scoring only two goals from 16 penalty corners (against Egypt) is one of our worst records. We can't afford it against Belgium, who will surely punish us for every mistake we make.
"There is much to play tomorrow, as we need to finish ninth to redeem our pride," said Amin.
A brave Baart wants Malaysian fans to fill up the stands at the 12,000-capacity National Hockey Stadium here tomorrow for the ninth-12th classification clash against the Young Tigers.
"It will be good if the fans turn up and fill the venue as we had experienced in the previous editions in Lucknow (2016) and Bhubaneswar (2021).
"It will help the home side and make the match more exciting."