FIH happy with Junior World Cup venue

INTERNATIONAL Hockey Federation’s (FIH) competitions manager Dennis Meredith gave the thumbs up after in specting Johor’s Junior World Cup venue on Oct 8.
Johor and Singapore will co-host the Junior World Cup on June 7-21 next year and the Lion city’s stadium was also inspected.
“Dennis made some minor recommendations like the need for four changing rooms from the present two, and doping sites.
“It should not be a problem, as we can use tents for the two additional changing rooms like how it was done during the Doha Asian Games,” said Malaysian Hockey Federation secretary Sgt Hashim Yusoff.
The venue, which is expected to be completed by March, is 90 per cent complete, with the artificial pitches yet to be laid.
“The turf has yet to be laid, but it is already at the stadium, and Dennis approved it after inspecting its quality,” said Hashim.
Hashim said FIH are also happy with the progress in Singapore. Johor will host 10 teams while Singapore another 10, with the opening ceremony in Singapore and final being played in Johor.
The facilities will be further put to test when completed in March with a four-nation junior invitational. The dry run will also test immigration, transportation and other logistics to avoid hiccups on the big day.
And an estimated RM1.5 million is needed to make the tournament a successful business venture.