Young Tigers need to buck up, says Subahan

JOHOR BAHRU - Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said the Young Tigers performed below par in the 2023 Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) hockey tournament and need to pull up their socks for the Junior World Cup (JWC) in Kuala Lumpur in December.

He said the squad had to make the best use of the four weeks left to the junior meet to rectify their shortcomings that were exposed in the SOJC.

He hoped the squad would perk up their spirits at a training camp to be conducted in Kuala Selangor to prepare for the JWC.

"It would be dishonest of me to say I am satisfied with their performance in the SOJC. There are many matters that the coach needs to improve on.

"They committed many common errors but if you keep repeating the same mistake, something is not right. So that's why these are the things that we need to have in that brainstorming session,” he told a news conference after the SOJC final between Germany and Australia at Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here last night.

However, Subahan is confident that the Young Tigers would rebound, as they would be getting the services of Australian penalty corner specialist coach Christopher Ciriello.

He said although the national junior squad finished seventh out of eight teams in the SOJC, they still gave the top teams in the world a good fight.

The Young Tigers lost their first tour matches and beat South Africa 3-2 in the seventh-eighth placing match.

Germany lifted the SOJC after beating Australia 3-1 in a penalty shootout.

India took third place by edging Pakistan 6-5 and Great Britain finished fifth after beating New Zealand 5-3. - BERNAMA