KUALA LUMPUR – The national men’s hockey squad have booked a ticket to the World Cup 2023, which will be held in India from Jan 13 to 29 next year.
This follows India’s qualification for the Super 4 group of Asia Cup 2022 in Jakarta, after thrashing hosts Indonesia 16-0 today. India, in their capacity as World Cup hosts, had earlier gained a spot in the world tournament.
This means that the other three teams in Super 4 have also automatically qualified for the World Cup, as the rule states that three of the Super 4 teams will qualify.
The big win saw India taking second place in Group A with four points, behind leaders Japan who have nine points.
Only the top two teams from each group at Asia Cup 2022 qualify for the Super 4 event, which will be played on a single-round league beginning Saturday.
Earlier, Malaysia qualified for Super 4 as Group B champions after scoring three successive wins, thrashing Oman 7-0 on Monday, edging South Korea 5-4 a day later and hammering Bangladesh 8-1 today.
South Korea finished second in Group B to accompany Malaysia, Japan and India to the Super 4.
The Speedy Tigers, coached by A. Arul Selvaraj, will start their Super 4 challenge by playing South Korea on Saturday, followed by India (May 29) and Japan (May 31).
The top two teams in Super 4 will then play in the Asia Cup 2022 final on June 1.
Malaysia last qualified for the World Cup in the 2018 edition in India, where they finished in 15th place.
Malaysia’s best achievement in the World Cup was in the 1975 edition in Kuala Lumpur where they finished fourth. – Bernama / pic credit : Asian Hockey Federation