Malaysia have been drawn into the same group as China, Brazil and Italy in the 2019 FIH Series Finals, which will be held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil from April 26 to May 4.
The world no. 13 will begin their campaign against Brazil (no. 27) on April 26, followed by China (no. 14) two days later and Italy (no. 32) on April 29 in in Group B of the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Meanwhile, Group A comprises world no. 10 Canada, Austria (no. 19), Wales (no. 24) and another team yet to be confirmed following the withdrawal of Vanuatu.
The winners of each group will advance to the semi-finals, while the second and third-placed teams from both groups will meet in cross-over match-ups to determine the other two semi-finalists.
As only top two finishers of the Kuala Lumpur edition of the Series Finals will advance to the next round of the Olympic qualification at the end of this year, Malaysia head coach Roelant Oltmans wanted his men to grab the opportunity by winning the tournament.
"It’s been a long time since we faced teams from Italy and Brazil. So, we need to get as much information as we can about these two sides," he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) on Wednesday.
As for the women’s Series Finals, to be held in Dublin from June 8-16, Malaysia have been drawn into Group A with hosts Ireland, Czech Republic and Singapore, while Group B consists of South Korea, Scotland, Ukraine and France.
The Malaysian Tigress, ranked 22nd in the world, will begin their campaign against world no. 8 Ireland on June 8 before taking on Singapore (June 9) and the Czech Republic (June 11).
Bernama
Thu Feb 28 2019
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