THE Asia Cup dust has yet to settle, but the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) are already planning for their women to reach the Asian Games semi-finals.
Not the Asiad in Hangzhou in September, but the 2026 edition in Nagoya, Japan.
"Our ladies had very little preparation for the Oman Asia Cup but even then, they did well against Thailand and Indonesia to finish fifth.
"They did get a beating by Asian giants India and Japan, but that was to be expected as we had retired many seniors when we combined the women's junior and senior teams into one.
"In finishing fifth in five consecutive Asia Cups, our players showed that even if we had retained the old hands, the results would still have been the same — fifth," said MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal.
MHC believe that the team, with an average age of 22, and supported by five seniors, are capable of breaking the Asian domination of India, Japan, South Korea and China.
"The idea is to keep adding new talent to this team, as even the five seniors will have to retire some time, and be absorbed into our coaching or other hockey structures.
"In the end, we will have a strong team to finish among the semi-finalists in the Asian Games and Asia Cup."
Towards this, MHC will hold a discussion with coach Nasihin Nubli and technical director Paul Revington upon their return from Oman.
"The initial idea is to invite some foreign teams to play in Malaysia this year and also send the girls to Korea, India and Japan to play and train.
"They never had a chance to do so in the last two years due to Covid-19, but they will get their chance soon.
"More details will be announced after a discussion with Nasihin and Revington," said Subahan.
Hiring a fitness trainer is also on the cards.
"Even though the National Sports Institute have done a good job so far, we need to hire a professional to chart their fitness level if we want to beat the Big Four in Asia.
"This team could match the Asean teams but playing against India and Japan in the Asia Cup showed that they were far off in fitness.
"To break into the semi-finals of the Asian Games, a fitness trainer is needed and will be hired soon," Subahan added.