The right man for the Job

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Former international I. Vikneswaran is just the kind of manager that the national juniors hockey team needs.

Bold and brave during his playing days, he wants his charges never to only qualify for the Junior World Cup, but make a dash for the ultimate as well.

The Junior Asia Cup (JAC), which is slated for Jan 21-30 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, offers the semi-finalists an entry to the Junior World Cup but that is not enough for Vickneswaran.

"Playing in the semi-finals shouldn't be a problem because of this group of talented players.

"Now they need to aim higher and the final ought to be their ambition," said Vickneswaran who was recently appointed as national juniors team manager.

Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal had said that former national players were appointed as national team managers to not only be pen-pushers but also motivate players with their vast experience.

Triple Olympian Mirnawan Nawawi was appointed as seniors manager while former national skipper Siti Noor Amarina Ruhani is to control the combined women's team.

The most common suspects fighting for semi-final berths in the JAC will again be India, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, China, and Malaysia.

"The only problem for our juniors, together with the rest of the teams, is the insufficient international friendlies leading towards the JAC.

"Covid-19 has made travel hard, so the juniors will not have valuable match-practice, unlike our previous teams.

"The coaches have their plans to overcome this, and playing more regularly with the senior side may possibly also help prepare the team.

"India has an edge over the others because they have a multitude of internal teams to play against, but the Covid-19 situation in India also will not permit much inter-state traveling at the moment as well," said Vickneswaran.

Ten teams are anticipated to play in Dhaka by the end of January, nonetheless, it is not a definite date since it all will depend on travel restrictions in addition to the Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh.

"We have around three months to the JAC, and our preparations will continue as usual despite the fact that there is no certainty that the virus will be contained," said Vickneswaran.

Source: https://www.nst.com.my

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