AFTER the postponement of the Azlan Shah Cup to September, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) are now concerned about the qualifier for the women’s junior World Cup.
The qualifier, the women’s Junior Asia Cup is slated to be held on April 6-12 in Kakamigahara, Japan.
The Azlan Shah Cup was supposed to be held on April 11-18 in Ipoh, but was postponed to Sept 24-Oct 3 following the Covid-19 outbreak.
“My main concern now is the women’s Junior Asia Cup as it also doubles up as a Junior World Cup qualifier.
“The tournament will be held in Japan in April, and the MHC is awaiting news from the AHF (Asian Hockey Confederation) and FIH (International Hockey Federation) on whether the tournament will carry on or be postponed as well because of Covid-19,” said MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.
In the meantime, Dutchman Roelant Oltmans will carry on with his job even though his earlier KPI was to finish in the top-two in the Azlan Shah Cup.
Yesterday, Oltmans held a training session as usual, and flicker Razie Rahim saw a bright side in the Azlan Shah Cup postponement.
“I believe the postponement is a blessing in disguise as now the players will have more time to train and become familiar with each other before we play in September,” said Razie.
Oltmans dropped five stalwarts and injected 11 youths into his team recently.
Plans are also afoot for the national team to play a series of international friendlies.
The Canadian team may arrive in July before heading to Japan for the Olympics, and there are plans to host a three-nation with New Zealand and Pakistan in June in Kuantan.
Yesterday, Oltmans released eight of his players to join the national juniors for the men’s Junior Asia Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh from June 4-14.
The eight are Nur Asyraf Ishak, Arif Syafie Ishak, Shello Silverius, Arif Sabron, Akhimullah Anuar Esook, Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Nor Firdaus Rosdi and Amirul Hanif Mamat.