Malaysia’s national junior team will look to redeem their pride in the 13th Sultan of Johor Cup by getting the better of a formidable Pakistan in their opening match at the Johor Hockey Stadium in Taman Daya, Johor Bahru today (Saturday, 11 October).
The host finished sixth and last at 2024 edition under the watch of former coach I. Vickneswaran.
With the FIH 2025 Junior World Cup just weeks away, a good performance here in the SOJC will serve as a major boost for coach Nor Saiful Zaini’s young tigers’ level of confidence.
“Obviously, we know Pakistan is a very strong team. They have five or six senior players with international caps. But we are well-prepared and always want to play a match to win,” said juniors assistant coach M. Kaliswaran at a pre-match press conference yesterday.
‘A good start will be of a great motivation for our players and it’s part of our preparation for the upcoming Junior World Cup. We are expecting a high intensity match against Pakistan.”
“Although the team had a short period of time to prepare for the Junior World Cup, but we had four tours in between. We had maximized the tour and gained a lot of experience playing in Australia, the Murugappa Cup in India, and also made two tours to China,” added Kaliswaran.
The final selection of players for the World Cup, he added, will be decided after the tournament.
“The race to be in the final selection of the team for the World Cup is going to be intense. Every player is excited to get off the block and give an encouraging performance,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s team manager Azfar Yaqoob said the Green Shirts are well prepared for all matches with a good combination of seniors and juniors.
“We have four to five senior national team players who recently featured in the Nations Cup here. And we also had a good and exciting series against Germany and Oman in Pakistan,” he said.
“Malaysia has always been a strong opposition. We are looking forward to this match. We know the Malaysian hockey fans always enjoy watching an exciting encounter against Pakistan,” he stressed.
On Pakistan’s position to compete or not in the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup 2025 scheduled to be held in India between Nov 28 to Dec 10, Azfar said they will abide by the decision taken by the government.
The Pakistanis will sharply depend on the skills of forward Abdul Hanaan, drag-flick specialist Sufyan Khan, midfielder Zakaria Hayat, Rana Walid and Basharat Hamza.
“They all are attached with the senior team and a lot is expected from them to guide the youngsters in the team,” he added.
