Muscat: The Oman hockey team has now cultivated a winning mentality in its ranks compared to earlier times when they played only to compete, according to head coach Siegfried Aikman. “Now the team has the confidence to go for the win against the top teams. That was evident during the Men’s Hockey5s Asia Cup and FIH Hockey5s World Cup,” the Dutch coach told Oman Daily Observer.
“It was a dream fulfilled for us when we clinched the bronze medal at the Hockey5s World Cup. We have a bunch of highly ambitious players who are instrumental in creating history for the team and country,” the coach said. Aikman was speaking during an appreciation ceremony for the FIH Hockey5s World Cup Oman 2024 at the Sheraton Hotel Muscat on Monday evening.
HH Sayyid Marwan bin Turki al Said, Governor of Dhofar, was the chief guest for the evening in presence of International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Dato Tayyib Ikram, Oman Olympic Committee Chairman Shaikh Khalid al Zubair and Oman Hockey Association (OHA) Chairman Dr Marwan bin Juma al Juma.
The bronze-winning Oman team members and coaching staff at the World Cup were honoured along with tournament officials, sponsors and the media organisations. The FIH president said history was made when Oman successfully organized the first-ever Hockey5s World Cup in its record-time new hockey facility at Al Amerat.
“The Oman Hockey Association under the leadership of Dr Marwan deserves the appreciation for delivering a great World Cup. Oman Olympic Committee Chairman Shaikh Khalid also keeps requesting me to take care of Oman hockey whenever I meet him,” Ikram said. He thanked the officials, sponsors and volunteers for making the inaugural Hockey5s World Cup a memorable one. Ikram also commended the support from Oman government and Governor of Dhofar during the Hockey5s Asia Cup and World Cup tournaments in Salalah and Muscat respectively.
JUNIOR AHF CUP NEXT TARGET
Aikman said the immediate target for Oman hockey is to win the Junior AHF Cup 2024 to be held in Singapore from June 14 to 23. “Our target is to claim the title at the under-21 tournament and qualify for the Asian Cup. The top placed teams in the Asian Cup will qualify for the Junior World Cup 2025 tournament.” Senior Asia Cup qualification will be the next target, the coach added.
The veteran coach also said Oman are taking part in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Thailand from November 21 to 30. “We are taking part in the Martial Arts Games with our hockey5s team. We would also like to take our indoor team provided approval from the Oman Olympic Committee,” he said.
“Our indoor hockey team is in a growth phase, we need to get more exposure for the team. If the Oman Olympic Committee sends our indoor hockey team to the Martial Arts Games in Malaysia, it will be great,” the Dutch coach said.
The Oman indoor hockey team took part in the Men’s Indoor Asia Cup 2024 tournament for the first time and star player Rashad al Fazari said it was a new experience. “We were playing against some of the top indoor teams in Asia. It was a completely new experience for our players. The matches tested our skills. We need more indoor tournaments and surely we will adapt to the game format,” he said.
Oman finished sixth at the Indoor Asia Cup held at Taldykorgan in Kazakhstan from May 21 to 25. Iran and Malaysia qualified for FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup 2025 after Iran thrashed Malaysia 7-1 in the final.
Pictures by Abdulwahid al Hamadani
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