Malaysia, go for fifth placing

07/03/2002

MALAYSIA must be feeling the jitters, and they have every reason to lose
sleep before the match against Pakistan today because they have not beaten
a single big name in the tournament so far.
The 1-0 win against Japan was scrappy, the 3-2 against India was lucky
considering skipper Baljit Singh missed a penalty stroke and the way they
played against Cuba, they did not deserve to win 4-2.
The three points against England, although a morale booster, was against
a side which struggled in the Champions Trophy and almost got relegated
into the Champions Challenge.
So there is nothing to shout about, because our preparations have been
elaborate and the millions spent on the team, should have yeilded better
results against Australia and South Korea, not to mention a struggling
Polish side.
So how will the Malaysian team fare against Pakistan tonight?
The multiple choice answer would be (A) Win (B) Lose (C) Any of the
above.
A draw is out of the question, and not suprisingly, all the journalists
who have been covering Malaysia for decades chose C as their answer.
The Malaysian players are well known all over the world, not for their
determination to win, but for their fickle-mindedness. They can play like
champions one day and then bring out their worse eventhogh they are being
cheered on by a crowd of 10,000.
The preview of the World Cup was there for all to see during the
Champions Challenge where they won three matches in a row but when they
almost hit a home-run, they caved in to the pressure and lost to Argentina
and South Africa.
So what is wrong with the present batch of players. Only a psychiatrist
can answer the question because both coach Paul Lissek and team manager
Datuk R. Yogeswaran have gone dizzy trying to psycho-analyse their
players.
"They had a great chance of reaching the semifinals, but they chose to
put the pressure on themselves instead of their opponents," said
Yogeswaran.
While Lissek is still optimistic that his charges can finish fifth in
the World Cup, he too cautioned the Press not to mention that to the
players because: "Then they will start shivering and Malaysia will be in
trouble again."
Pakistan have not been playing up to their mark, and in the last few
matches, it was evident that Shahbaz Ahmad's age caught up with him faster
than he thought it would after the gruelling matches he played in Group B.
Their controversial exit against the Germans has upset them and
yesterday, when Timesport tried to contact their coach and team manager,
even the hotel receptionist was scared to make the call.
She said: "The Pakistan team manager (Brig Khokar Khalid) has given
strict instructions not to disturb him."
On a normal day, Shahbaz and his teammates would be loitering in the
lobby of the official hotel and easy to approcah, but yesterday, they
chose to quarantine themselves and none were seen coming down for lunch
either.
Pakistan, four-time World Cup champions, are feeling the pressure, and
they might just break against Malaysia today - that is if the national
players bother to play hockey.
After the Junior World Cup debacle in Hobart last year, Timesport said
that the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) need to do an IQ test before
selecting national players, and we stick by that.
(END)