Secret Cubans in the dark

01/02/2002

WITH just 23 days to go before the World Cup begins, not much is known
about Cuba who are in Group B with Malaysia.
And it seems that Cuba do not know much about the 2002 Kuala Lumpur
World Cup either.
The Cubans recently sent a fax to the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF)
requesting inexpensive accommodation at the National Sports Council
hostel.
Somewhere along the line, someone in Cuba must have overlooked the most
important point in Malaysia's bid for the World Cup which stipulates that
free accommodation will be provided by the MHF at the official hotel, the
Concorde Kuala Lumpur.
That was the last that MHF heard from the Cubans, who are expected to
arrive on or before Feb 15.
The Pan American Champions, who beat Canada en route to the World Cup,
cannot be taken lightly just because they are an unknown entity. And since
Malaysia have always struggled against the Canadians, the warning signals
for a tough match on March 4 are there.
Coach Paul Lissek, who has some idea on how the Cubans play after
watching them in the Pan American Championship, is eager to have a go
against them in a friendly on Feb 15.
The friendly will be played on Pitch One of the National Hockey Stadium
at 7.30pm.
Until then, the Cubans remain a mystery.
Malaysia are also slated to play friendlies with three Group A rivals -
New Zealand (Feb 17), Pakistan (Feb 18) and Spain (Feb 19) to prepare for
the World Cup.
Yesterday, the national team received a rude shock when they arrived at
Bukit Jalil for their morning training. Work to increase the seating
capacity at both the pitches had started and they were not allowed in to
train.
"There has been some misunderstanding with the contactors and the Public
Works Department," said MHF secretary S. Satgunam yesterday. "I had
written to them (PWD) requesting for some leeway because the team needs to
train at the World Cup venue to get used to the new turf."
Work to increase the seating capacity was interrupted twice when
Malaysia hosted the Champions Challenge in December and then the recent
Six-Nation. Now, the seats will be in place only four days before the
World Cup begins.
Both the pitches will be used during the hectic eight-team-per-group
format so seating at the main stadium will be increased by 5,000 temporary
seats to 17,000 while an additional 3,000 temporary seats will increase
the capacity of the second pitch to 5,000.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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