Scotland’s Jamie Golden is excited to be in Johor Baru for the 10th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup.
Golden was 17 when he featured in the 2019 Great Britain side, and is looking forward to help his team win the event for the second time around, having been part of the squad that won in 2019, defeating India 2-1 in the final.
“It is very exciting to come back again after 3 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and I’m excited to see what we can do to win this tournament again. We all missed the SOJC,” said Golden, after the friend match against Japan at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium.
He and England’s Conor Williamson are the only two players in the 18-member Great Britain team who have had the experience of playing in the 2019 tournament.
“The friendly match against Japan 2 days ago was exciting for both sides. Good warmup for our task ahead against South Africa. They have never played in the SOJC and it will be exciting to play against a side that is making its debut,” he added.
As for the challenge in the 2022 tourney, Golden said all teams are playing with a new set of players as the pandemic in 2020 had virtually messed up the opportunity to compete in the SOJC for two years.
“We have been training and playing lots of matches in preparation for the SOJC. Except for Conor and me, the others in the team are playing for the first time. But we are determined to play our best and move forward,” said Golden.