Mission Impossible

By Ajitpal Singh

IT will be an impossible task for the national team to reach the Women's Hockey World Cup Finals with World No 5 Australia drawn in their qualifying group in Santiago, Chile.
Malaysia also face the hosts, Ireland and Scotland in the qualifiers on April 24-May 5.
Malaysia, the World No 22, are ranked fourth behind Australia, Ireland (15th) and Chile (16th). Scotland are ranked 23rd on the women's ranking.
National coach Yahya Atan admitted that it will be tough to win the qualifying group with the presence of Australia.
The World Cup will be held in Rosario, Argentina on Aug 29-Sept 11.
"Of course winning other matches are achievable but not against Australia. Luckily we have a favourable draw as we only meet Australia in our last match," said Yahya at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
"We need to win our other matches to guarantee a place in the final. I believe this is possible. My girls have lost to Ireland and Scotland before but I am confident they will beat them this time."
Malaysia were hammered 8-0 by Australia and were beaten 3-0 by Scotland in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games where the team managed to finish sixth.
In last year's Champions Challenge II, Malaysia were edged 3-1 and 1-0 by Ireland.
The women's team have been training together as a unit since last year.
They also played several friendly matches including with Oceania champions New Zealand last month.
"The team have been progressing well both in training and competitions. Our performance against top level teams have also improved," he added.
The Malaysian Women's Hockey Association (MWHA) named 18 players for the Qualifiers. The team will leave for Chile on April 18.
The squad -- Goalkeepers: Siti Noor Zainordin, Farah Ayuni Yahya; defenders: Catherine Anak Lambor, Raja Norsharina Shabuddin, Siti Shahidah Saad, Norfaraha Hashim, Sebah Kari; midfielders: Nadia Abdul Rahman (capt), Juliani Mohd Din, Nuraini Abdul Rashid, Noor Hasliza Ali, Siti Nor Amarina Ruhani; forwards: Norbaini Hashim, Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohd, Fazilla Sylvester Silin, Nor Hidayah Ahmad Bokhari, Nor Azlin Sumantri, Siti Rahman Othman.
FIXTURES -- April 24: Chile v Malaysia; April 25: Scotland v Malaysia; April 27: Malaysia v Ireland; May 1: Australia v Malaysia.