PAKISTAN COACH KNOWS US WELL
Oltmans more familiar with Malaysia than his own team
HERE is the irony. Coach Roelant Oltmans admitted that he has a better picture of the Malaysian hockey side than his Pakistan team.
That is because the Dutchman has only just taken over the Pakistan team for a week while he used to be the national coach of Malaysia.
Malaysia and Pakistan will clash in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (SAS Cup) opening match in Ipoh today.
Dutchman Oltmans served as Malaysia coach from 2018-2020 before he joined Pakistan as their junior team coach in 2023.
He was appointed as their senior team coach last month for the SAS Cup, following a tussle in the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).
However, Oltmans, 69, said he was not in charge of the team that denied Malaysia a semi-final spot in the Olympic Qualifier in Muscat in January with a 3-3 draw and thrashed Malaysia 5-2 in a classification match at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Oltmans added that he had only one week to prepare the Green Shirts for the SAS Cup before they participate in the Nations Cup in Poland from May 31-June 9.
"I had a short time with the team. We trained for a week, it was really short and this tournament is an important one for us to build up for the Nations Cup in which we have always done well," said Oltmans in the pre match press conference in Ipoh yesterday.
"I have around seven players from the junior team for the senior squad. I think I know some of the players from the Malaysian
team better from my time here.
"We have a young squad and we hope to perform well as the tournament goes."
Pakistan had won the Azlan Shah Cup thrice, in 1999, 2000 and 2003, and they came third in the last edition in 2022, which was won by Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the Speedy Tigers assistant coach, Sukri Mutalib, said the Malaysian team don't feel the pressure of being the defending champions and they aim to do their best with a squad of seasoned players and youngsters.
"We have a new squad, we target
to at least finish top four. We have a mixed squad for this tournament and we hope to play well and the players can enjoy the tournament," said the former international.
"We have a long term project and we hope the players can prove themselves."