Bukit Jalil Hockey Stadium to be closed end of Sept for repair works

Iklan
The National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil will be closed at the end of next month for improvement works ahead of the 2023 Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup here in December - Agency Photo
KUALA LUMPUR - The National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil will be closed at the end of next month for improvement works ahead of the 2023 Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup here in December.

Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) competitions committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Anil Jeet Singh said the improvement works will be carried out by the Malaysian Stadium Corporation (PSM) to ensure that the venue is ready to host the Dec 5-16 tournament.

"The PSM will probably repaint the spectator seats, install tournament banners in the stadium and ensure that the field is in good condition,” he told a press conference here today.

Anil added that a field next to the stadium, which will be used as the warm-up venue, will also be closed for the same purpose.

Meanwhile, he did not rule out the possibility that the 2023 Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) from Thursday (Aug 3) until Aug 19 will also be a platform for new players to impress coach Muhamad Amin Rahim and roped into the Young Tigers squad for the 2023 Men's Junior Hockey World Cup.

Malaysia are drawn in Group A with defending champions Argentina and former champions Australia and Chile.

Only the group winners and runners-up will advance to the quarter-finals while the rest will play in the ninth to 16th classification stage.

Anil also said that 28 men’s and 16 women’s teams will compete in the 2023 MJHL.

In the men’s category, 10 teams will be involved in the main division (divided into two groups) while eight teams will be involved in the north zone division (divided into two groups) and 10 teams in the south zone (divided into two groups).

In the women’s section, the 16 teams will be divided into four groups.

Anil said four venues have been chosen to host the MJHL, namely the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil for the men's Division 1 and the final, followed by Bertam Hockey Stadium, Penang (north zone men's Division 2), Bukit Serindit Hockey Stadium, Melaka (south zone men's Division 2) and Lembah Pantai Hockey Stadium (women). - BERNAMA