Malaysia: Coaching national hockey teams is a passion for Australian greats.Following his illustrious peers, former Australian coach Barry Dancer has taken over the job of rebuilding the Korean national team.
Speaking to PTI, ahead of the opening day`s encounter against Malaysia, Barry said he is only four-week old and needs more time to build a team to confidently say that it can match the best in the world.
Acceding that along with Malaysia, Korea is the side with a wealth of experience, Dancer said he would not like to ring in too many changes in the composition and in the style of play.
"The Asians have their pattern and style of play which is effective against teams playing in a similar line of thinking," he said.
That the boys are hard-working and willing to take that extra grind has helped Barry settle down quickly in his new role.
Touching 70, Barry said a good show by the Koreans in the Sultan Azlan Shah is imperative for him to look at future goals.
Presently ranked eighth in the world, Barry said Korea would do well to improvise and hold its own in the face of sterner tests from the opposition.
Meanwhile, Tournament Director Gary Marsh looked forward to an interesting edition.
In his first assignment at SAS hockey, Marsh said the blue astro-turf is a spectators` delight, only the second occasion after the London Olympics that an international hockey tournament is being played in the eye-friendly turf.
With over two decades of experience as an, Marsh said he would not like to pick any one match as the most exciting or the most difficult.
"That way in my eyes, two teams are out in the middle and nothing more than that. It hardly mattered to me whether I officiated an ordinary league match or an international where the bearing of the results had a say on the ultimate winners."
PTI
First Published: Saturday, March 09, 2013, 14:48