KUALA LUMPUR: The national women's hockey team achieved their best-ever world ranking after moving up a notch to No. 19 in the latest International Hockey Federation posting.
In Asia, Malaysia are still fifth behind traditional powerhouses India (9), China (10), Japan (11) and South Korea (12).
Malaysia's men's team are 10th in the world, but are expected to move higher after the Azlan Shah Cup on Nov 1-10 and the Nations Cup on Nov 28-Dec 4.
"After the tournaments, we will play against Spain and New Zealand. I believe by the time we arrive in India for the World Cup, we will be in a much higher position in the world," said national men's coach Arul Selvaraj.
The Bhubaneswar-Rourkela World Cup, which will see Malaysia making their ninth appearance, will be held on Jan 13-29.
Meanwhile, in the women's Junior Hockey League today, SSTMI-UniTen hammered SSMS Girls 17-0. Amazingly, the SSMS girls had held Sabah HA to a 0-0 draw in their last match.
RESULTS
Girls
KLSS Wipers 5 Perak SSN 3; Kedah SSN 2 BNHC KL 0; PJCC Black Widow 11 Mutiara Juniors 0; Terengganu HA 6 Za'aba NSHA 0, SSTMI-UniTen 17 SSMS Girls 0.
Tomorrow
Boys Division Two Group A: NHDP Penang U-16 v Anderson Juniors (Bertam, 4pm), MSSPP-PSHA v Bukit Jalil Juniors (Bertam, 6pm), Perak HA v Prodigy Hawks (Gunung Rapat, 4pm), PPD-SHC v SSMS Resilient (Azlan Shah, 4pm).
Group B: Perlis Juniors v NHDP Penang U-14 (Perlis, 4pm), KL City Hall v Seri Kota Predator (Pantai, 3pm), NS Seniors v KL Sikh Sports RC (Seremban II, 4pm), Melaka High School v KL Sports School (Pantai, 5pm), Franciscan HC v TBSS-NSHA (Bukit Serindit, 4pm), D'Touch v PPHT-Thunderbolts (Kuantan, 4pm)