SINGAPORE: The second round of the World Hockey League (WHL) which kicks off at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium here today serves as a golden opportunity for Malaysia to book a ticket to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next year.
Malaysia will have to qualify for the next round to be in contention for Rio but not many are placing their bets on the national squad making the cut based on their less than sterling performance in a series of friendlies they played before coming here.
The squad coached by Tai Beng Hai have a task tough ahead and must finish among the top two in this round in order to have any chance of qualifying for Rio.
Besides the hosts, the five continental champions and top six ranked teams in the WHL will get to see action in Rio.
Malaysia missed the chance for automatic qualification to Rio when they failed to emerge champions at last year’s Asian Games and not only that, finished in a dismal fourth position.
So it has now become a “harder road” for Malaysia, having to get past this second round to qualify for the semifinals which will be held in either Argentina or Belgium and thereafter the finals in India to book a slot to Rio.
In this second round, Malaysia are in group A together with Oman, Ukraine and hosts Singapore, replacing Fiji who withdrew.
Malaysia open their campaign against Ukraine on Jan 17 followed by Oman on Jan 19 and Singapore on Jan 20.
Group B is made up of Japan, Poland, Bangladesh and Mexico.
The semi-finals of this second round are scheduled for Jan 22.
According to Beng Hai, Malaysia were ranked top two in Group A.
In the latest world rankings, Malaysia are in 13th place, Oman (22), Ukraine (24), Singapore (36), Japan (14), Poland (18), Bangladesh (30) and Mexico (35). — Bernama