KUALA LUMPUR: During the recent Hangzhou Asian Games flag-handing ceremony, nobody dared to announce where the gold, silver and bronze medals would come from — a move to prevent undue pressure on the athletes.
But the Malaysian men's and women's hockey teams are made of different stuff; they love pressure.
National men's coach A. Arul Selvaraj has set his sights firmly on winning the gold in Hangzhou.
In contrast, women's coach Nasihin Nubli has taken a more realistic approach by announcing their mission to secure a fifth-place finish.
Chef de Mission Datuk Chong Kim Fatt refrained from specifying a gold medal target for the Games.
Instead, he announced a target of 27 medals of any colour during the flag-handing ceremony in Bukit Jalil.
For the men's team, winning gold in Hangzhou would mark the end of their Olympic wait since the 2000 Sydney Games.
The women's team have never played in the Olympics.
It would be tough for Nasihin team to qualify for the last four in Hangzhou.
Historically, the Malaysian women have reached the semi-finals only twice — they won bronze at the 1982 New Delhi Games and finished fourth four years later in Seoul. In the last four editions, Nasihin's side consistently finished fifth.
In the men's event, there is a strong possibility that Malaysia and India will meet in the final in Hangzhou.
The Speedy Tigers, who first played in the Asian Games in Tokyo 1958, reached the finals in Guangzhou 2010 and in Jakarta 2018.
However, they lost 2-0 to Pakistan in 2010 and suffered a 3-1 shootout defeat after a 6-6 draw against Japan in 2018.
On both occasions, Malaysia defeated India in the semi-finals but failed to secure the gold and an Olympic ticket due to subpar performances against Pakistan and Japan.
Hangzhou will likely witness a nail-biting final between Malaysia and India.
Malaysia are in Group B with Indonesia, Thailand, Oman, China and South Korea.
Topping their pool will likely help them avoid world No. 3 India in the semi-finals.
The Speedy Tigers are currently ranked 10th in the world, two rungs ahead of Korea.
"We will play to top our group. We are not afraid of playing any team in the knock-out stage.
"Our sole purpose in Hangzhou is to win gold, which will earn us the Olympic ticket," said Arul.
"My players are well-oiled for the mission. It will be difficult to stop Malaysia in Hangzhou," said Arul.
Meanwhile, Nasihin, when asked about a semi-final target, smiled and said the final group match against South Korea would be the decider.
The women's team are in Group A with Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and India.
"It will be tough to reach the semi-finals as both India (world No. 7) and South Korea (No.12) will be gunning for points against my team, which are ranked 19th in the world," said Nasihin.
"But then again, it all depends on match day. Our goal is to upset South Korea for a semi-final spot, failing which we will aim for a fifth-place finish."
The Malaysian women's team are expected to secure maximum points against Singapore and Hong Kong.