KUALA LUMPUR: National hockey legend Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi has described the upcoming FIH Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur from June 15-21 as the ideal platform to gauge the current level of the national hockey squad, now under the guidance of head coach Sarjit Singh.
He said the tournament provides a valuable opportunity to evaluate the national squad against seven other participating countries, including France, South Africa, New Zealand, and South Korea.
“The Nations Cup is a very good platform for the national hockey team, especially to assess their progress since last year when they were competing in the National Hockey League. Now is the right time to evaluate them,“ he said.
“This is also a time to share moments and experiences with other top hockey nations - that’s what truly matters,” he told Bernama when met at the Kuala Lumpur Open Pickleball Championship, officiated by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh at the Pickle Social Club here today.
Commenting on expectations for the national squad, nicknamed the Speedy Tigers, Mirnawan said he preferred not to place any pressure by setting personal targets.
However, he said the national squad should be given time to build a strong and competitive team for the future.
“In team sports like hockey, progress takes time. We want to observe how the national team develops, but patience is key. For me, we need to give them the space and time to grow, and only then can we identify areas for improvement,” he said.
“But we definitely want to see a positive result,” he added.
The national team is currently in Australia, playing six friendly matches as part of their preparations for the Nations Cup.
The Speedy Tigers have several major tournaments lined up this year, including the Asian Cup in India from Aug 27 to Sept 7, which offers automatic World Cup qualification spots; the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup from Nov 22 to 29, and the SEA Games in Thailand from Dec 9 to 20.
