EUROPEAN POWER IN ASIA?
Maninderjit expects Belgium, Netherlands, Germany to excel in World Cup
THE 2023 Hockey World Cup may be held in Asia, but a European team will win it. That’s the prediction of two-time Olympian Maninderjit Singh.
Malaysia will be among four Asian teams competing in the 16-nation World Cup which starts in the Indian cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela today.
Maninderjit who played for Malaysia in the 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, said the European
teams have all-round quality and are also showing good form.
“Teams from Europe have shown that they play exceptionally well as a unit and have also been performing really well in recent tournaments,” said Maninderjit.
“Europe has seven teams featuring in the World Cup, which is the most from any continent.
“They have really good teams like Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany who play total hockey and are also very tactical. The other nations from Europe are also capable.
“To me, the only two teams that can stop the Europeans from winning the World Cup are either Australia or Argentina as they have won at the Olympics and the World Cup in the past.”
Belgium are defending champions having lifted their maiden World Cup in 2018 in India. They defeated Netherlands 3-2 in the final.
Belgium are the third European team to win the World Cup after three-time champions the Netherlands and twice champions Germany.
The other European teams competing in the World Cup this year are England, Spain, France and debutant Wales.
Australia, who won the World Cup in 1986, 2010 and 2014, are currently the world No 1 while Argentina won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Maninderjit sees Group A (Australia, Argentina, France, South Africa) and Group D (India, England, Spain, Wales) as the toughest.
“France and South Africa have made steady progress in recent competitions and can give Australia and Argentina a real challenge in Group A,” said Maninderjit who played for Malaysia in the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“Group D is the group of death as all teams are equally strong. You cannot underestimate Wales as they play good hockey and could pose a threat to the others.”
Malaysia are in Group C alongside Netherlands, Chile and New Zealand. The Speedy Tigers will open their campaign against the Netherlands tomorrow.