Speedy Tigers head coach A. Arul Selvaraj has issued a clarion call to his men to go all out against Japan in their final classification match and finish 13th in the 2023 Hockey World Cup in India tomorrow (Jan 28).

He urged his men to play with passion, commitment and determination to ensure victory in the 13th-16th placing classification match at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela as it would see Malaysia improving on the 15th placing they achieved in the 2018 edition, also in India.

If Malaysia lose to Japan tomorrow, they will end up in 15th spot again.

For the record, Malaysia won all three matches against Japan last year, triumphing 5-1 in the Nations Cup in South Africa in December; 4-2 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in November; and 5-0 in the Asia Cup in Jakarta in May.

“Although we have beaten Japan before, it doesn’t mean we can expect an easy match at the World Cup stage… Japan will come out fighting as they also want to beat us.

“We must be highly motivated for our final game at the World Cup. So, we need to prepare the players as best we can, especially the players’ emotional aspect, for us to achieve victory,” he said in a video clip the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) shared with the media today.

Yesterday, the Speedy Tigers’ dreams of finishing in ninth spot were dashed after they fell 6-3 to South Africa in a classification match.

Arul Selvaraj, however, feels that their loss to South Africa should not be used as a yardstick to measure the team’s capability.

“We held a discussion with the players and they held one among themselves as well. All parties need to take responsibility individually (for the loss to South Africa).

“But that doesn’t mean we are not a good team, on the contrary, we are getting stronger,” he said.

The coach also called on Malaysians to continue supporting the Speedy Tigers as they look to end their campaign on a high.  — BERNAMA