Malaysia to host 2010 World Cup?

By Ajitpal Singh

'There are strong indications that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) would move the World Cup from New Delhi.
According to reliable sources, some teams have threatened to withdraw of World Cup if it remains in New Delhi due to security reasons and FIH are looking at Malaysia and Australia as Plan B.
FIH has also given the India Olympic Association a month to form a proper federation for hockey.'

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MANY weaknesses in the Malaysian team were exposed in the 4-2 defeat by Pakistan in the semi-finals of the 8th AirAsia Men's Asia Cup on Thursday.

But coach Tai Beng Hai does not have time on his side. He will need to work fast to rectify these problems or Malaysia can forget about playing in next year's World Cup in New Delhi.
Though the team have made some progress with the 1-1 draw against South Korea and the 4-1 win over Japan, both ranked higher than Malaysia, it's still not enough to make a mark on the world stage.
Beng Hai, who had only four-and-a-half months to prepare the team for the Asia Cup, made it clear that the players need to improve on their physical and technical abilities.
"The team have achieved their target and this is progress. Yes, they are still not perfect and I will need to work harder with the team in order to get them into the World Cup.
"As for now, the players are fit and playing well, and with some fine-tuning, they will be even better," said Beng Hai in Kuantan yesterday.
"Overall, I'm very happy with all of my players as they play to their abilities despite the short time in training. This is a good sign. Of course I'm slightly disappointed that the team did not make the final but we lost to a better team."
On the Malaysian team's lack of expertise in executing penalty corners in the Asia Cup, Beng Hai said: "We had several options but we didn't use them all."
On whether the team peaked too early at last month's Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, where Malaysia finished second, he said his players were better prepared for the Asia Cup.
"The Sultan Azlan Shah was part of the preparation for the Asia Cup. My players were playing better in Kuantan and that's more important to me.'
Beng Hai said goalkeeper S. Kumar, Nabil Fiqri, Sukri Mutalib, Kelvinder Singh and Jiwa Mohan were the most outstanding Malaysian players in the Asia Cup.
The winners of the Asia Cup will qualify for the World Cup and with Malaysia out of the running, the national team will need to compete in the Qualifiers in November. There will be three qualifying tournaments involving six teams each in Lille, Auckland and Dubai.
On his team's match against China today for the bronze medal, Beng Hai said: "The players have put their loss to Pakistan behind them and will go all out to win the bronze medal," he added.
TODAY - Bronze medal: China v Malaysia (5pm) ; Final: South Korea v Pakistan (7.30pm). (Both matches live on Channel Nine.