Hiding is a blessing...

MALAYSIAN coach K. Dharmaraj is looking towards the future, and so, the three defeats in a row in the Sultan of Johor Cup is actually a relief to him.
  After beating world junior champions Germany, Malaysia collapsed against New Zealand, Australia and Pakistan.
  And today, they are not expected to upset finalists and also unbeaten India in their last pool match.
  "After winning the last Sultan of Johor Cup, and then the Junior Asia Cup, it is actually a sobering experience to lose three matches in a row.
  "This has not only made me more determined to push forward my plans for the next 12 months, but also a wake-up call to some of my players who have started to take things for granted," said Dharmaraj.
  Malaysia are actually in the first stage of preparing a team for the Junior World Cup in New Delhi next November, and many players from this tournament would not be eligible in 12 months time.
  "The most crucial cogs that are missing here are a strong midfielder and a penalty corner flicker. We miss Fitri (Saari) in midfield and Faizal (Saari) in penalty corners and need to nurture two more from my present batch to take over their spots," said Dharmaraj.
  Fitri helped Malaysia win the last Sultan of Johor Cup while both the brothers played a pivotal role in the Junior Asia Cup, but have been drafted into the senior side which will leave on Sunday for the Champions Challenge I tournament in Argentina.
  The other factor that Dharmaraaj must nurture in this team is discipline, as there is too much of a fighting spirit off the ball in this batch.
  They also tend to argue too much with the referees and lose concentration in the task at hand.
  Against India today, a win might just see them play in the third-fourth bracket on Sunday.
  But India, who have already checked into the final, will field their best players even though the final is 24 hours away.
  "We will field the best players because we want to remain unbeaten in this tournament heading into the final. It is a good chance for my players to warm-up and so I will not rest any key players against Malaysia tomorrow (today)," said India coach Baljeet Singh.
 TODAY: Germany v Pakistan (4pm), India v Malaysia (6pm), New Zealand v Australia (8pm).

STANDINGS

              P  W  D  L  F  A Pts
INDIA         4  3  1  0  8  2  10
GERMANY       4  2  0  2  10 7  6
AUSTRALIA     4  2  0  2  8  7  6
PAKISTAN      4  1  2  1  6  8  5
N ZEALAND     4  1  1  2  10 13 4
MALAYSIA      4  1  0  3  7  12 3