Straight to the gymnasium

14/02/2002

THE national players will return from the Chinese New Year holidays today
and a gym workout has been arranged in the morning.
Not that team manager Datuk R. Yogeswaran is worried that they would
have added extra kilos during the festival holidays, it is just a routine
that they must follow until the World Cup is over.
"The holidays are over and the boys will be back for some serious
national duty tomorrow (today) and since they have mastered all that they
need to know about hockey, now is the time to keep fit and get mentally
ready for the World Cup," said Yogeswaran.
Yogeswaran was the only Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) official who
was willing to put his head on the chopping block when he said that after
preparing for more than two years, the team's target in the World Cup is
to lift the trophy itself.
He did receive some flak for daring to dream, but the manager was right
because even teams like Cuba, if asked, will surely say that their target
is the trophy itself.
In the Champions Challenge and the Six-Nation they did show glimpses of
brilliance but lapses in concentration made sure they did not finish among
the top.
"That is why we are going to stress on mental preparation in the run-up
to the World Cup, with 10 days to go, nothing much can be done but keep in
shape and not get stage fright for the big day," said Yogeswaran.
Malaysia have four friendlies lined up against New Zealand (two),
Pakistan and Spain but those will be more of warm-up matches and nothing
can be read forn them.
"During the Champions Challenge and the Six-Nation, we held back some of
our set-pieces and they could prove valuable in the World Cup itself. So,
Malaysia must dare to dream if they want to finish among the top teams,"
said Yogeswaran.
(END)