Muscat, May 20
Oman national hockey team all set to take part in in the Men's Indoor Asia Cup hockey championship on Tuesday, the tournament hosted by Kazakhstan in Taldykorgan city during May 21 to 26, with participation of eight teams.
Oman are in first group along with Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, while the second group included Iran, Singapore, Tajikistan and Thailand. Four teams will qualify to the semifinals, and two teams will qualify for the Indoor World Cup finals.
Oman team will open their journey with Malaysian team on Tuesday, while Oman will play the second match on Wednesday against Indonesian team, then will conclude the group stage by taking on Kazakhstan team.
The Oman team is taking part in this qualifier for the second time in history, seeking for one of the two qualification tickets to the Indoor World Cup finals in October. Omani players showed excellent performance in their last participation in the Men's Hockey 5s World Cup in Muscat in January, during which the team claimed the bronze medal.
The Oman squad consists 12 players, including goalkeepers Fahd al Noufali and Amjad al Hassani, Rashad al Fazari, Khaled al Shuaibi, Amir al Mashari, Amin Faraj, Shafi al Shatri, Shehab Naheth, Talal Mohammed Beit Hazim, Abdullah al Alawi, Mohammed al Noufali and Osama Ramadan Nassib. The technical staff is led by Dutch coach Seigfried Aikman, assisted by Salah al Saadi and Khaled al Raisi.
INTEGRATED TRAINING
The Oman team went through an integrated preparation programme immediately after the Muscat World Cup, divided into three stages. The first stage began with 28 players for two weeks and ended by selecting 22 players to the third stage, where the coach reduced the squad to 12 players. The final stage witnessed friendly matches with the Iran team who are ranked second and chose Oman as their camp. Oman won two friendly matches while losing two and one draw.
Salah bin Nasser al Saadi, Oman assistant coach, said: “The team needs friendly matches in order to prepare greatly for this participation, as the team succeeded in playing five friendly matches with the Iranian team, during which our players presented a good technical level.”
“This participation is somewhat new for the team since 2017. On Tuesday, we will return start with new jersey and systems in managing matches. And our great ambition is to grab a qualification ticket to the Indoor World Cup,” he added.
Abdullah bin Mohammed al Obaidani, head of Oman delegation, explained: “We hope the team will perform at the level required for this participation and show presence in the Asian Cup finals, after an absence of more than seven years.”
Al Obaidani added, "the Oman Hockey Association has provided an integrated programme for this important participation, today the team is ready to compete, we hope our players will provide the best.”
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