Peaking too early?

Egypt’s Mohamed Basha (right) stretches over Azlan Misron to knock the ball away from the Malaysian in their Azlan Shah Cup match on Monday. Malaysia won 4-1. — Pic: MUHAIZAN YAHYA

THE question everyone asking is has the Malaysian team peaked too soon and at the wrong tournament, with the Asia Cup starting on May 9 in Kuantan.

The Azlan Shah Cup does not offer ranking points, and neither is it a qualifier to a bigger platform, as here, only pride is at stake.
With 3-2 and 4-1 wins over Pakistan and Egypt respectively in the bag, coach Tai Beng Hai said there is no hard and fast belief to peaking too early.
"The wins are good indicators that training for the past three months has benefited the players, and we are slowly progressing to the desired goal, which is the Asia Cup. Peaking too early is not the case here, as there is still ample room for progress," said Beng Hai.
Of Malaysia's seven goals to date, five have come from penalty corners while two were field attempts. A handful of penalty corner variations were tested in the two matches, with Amin Rahim scoring from a direct flick, Azlan Misron from a slap-shot, Engku Malek from a hit, and Chua Boon Huat scoring two goals with deflections from the penalty spot.
And the coach said the team have more penalty corner variations up their sleeves.
"I am testing the penalty corner battery by using variations, and in the remaining matches we will test other set-pieces. The Azlan Shah Cup is a timely tournament to prepare Malaysia for the Asia Cup," said Beng Hai.
The Asia Cup offers only one ticket to the 2010 New Delhi World Cup with the losers having to go through other qualifiers. Malaysia are in Group A with Japan, South Korea and Oman, while Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and China make up the other group.
The top two teams advance to the semi-finals which means Malaysia will have to beat either India or Pakistan to make the final. Both India and Pakistan are having a nightmarish Azlan Shah Cup with India being held 2-2 by Egypt, and Pakistan losing to Malaysia and New Zeland with identical 3-2 scores.
However, coaches of both teams remain unfazed as their end goal is also the Asia Cup. India, as hosts, have qualified while Pakistan will recall four veterans including drag-flicker Sohail Abbas for their Asia Cup campaign.
So, even though the next two matches against India today and New Zealand on Saturday will show if Malaysia have what it takes to qualify for the final, Beng Hai will nonetheless be using the matches to juggle his players, and try out new methods with an eye to snatching the Asia Cup gold.