KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and New Zealand are unhappy with the old and bumpy pitch at the National Hockey Stadium in Gniezno, Poland, which will host the Nations Cup from May 31-June 9.
Speedy Tigers coach Sarjit Singh was not impressed with the turf after his players tested it in two training sessions since arriving in Gniezno on Friday.
"The pitch is an old green turf, which is bumpy and uneven. The players are having a tough time getting used to it.
"The turf is not up to mark for the tournament. It is nothing compared to the blue pitches in Malaysia.
"The New Zealand team are also unhappy with the pitch. They have made a complaint to the host nation," said Sarjit.
Sarjit said the team will test the pitch again in friendlies against New Zealand and South Africa before the Nations Cup.
"We will drop two members from our 20-member squad after assessing them in the friendly matches," said Sarjit, who guided the Speedy Tigers to fourth in the Sultan Azlan Shah (SAS) Cup in Ipoh two weeks ago.
Nine teams will feature in the Nations Cup, and world No. 13 Malaysia will open their Group B campaign against No. 16 Pakistan on May 31.
Malaysia's other matches are against world No. 9 France on June 2 and No. 20 Poland on June 5.
Group A comprises Austria, South Korea, New Zealand, S. Africa, and Poland.
The champions will feature in the FIH Pro League.
Sarjit sees Pakistan as a huge threat to their ambition of reaching the semi-finals in Poland.
The Green Shirts, under the guidance of coach Roelant Oltmans, are in the Netherlands to prepare for the Nations Cup.
Pakistan showed their prowess by finishing runners-up to Japan in the SAS Cup."