KUALA LUMPUR: Mongolia may have a lot of flat land, but the Speedy Tigers face an uphill task to finish on the podium at the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Hulunbuir from Sept 8-17.
That despite Malaysia reaching the ACT final last year in Chennai before losing 4-3 to hosts India.
The national team's current form leaves much to be desired. Sarjit Singh's men struggled in their last two tournaments. They finished fourth among six teams in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in May. And in the Nations Cup in Gniezno, Poland, in June, they finished seventh among nine teams.
They also had a poor outing in their Europe Tour in June, getting hammered 10-1 by Germany and 6-0 by the Netherlands.
In their seven-match European tour, the Speedy Tigers beat the Belgium B team twice, with an identical score of 3-2 and lost once (4-2).
For the Mongolian mission, the Speedy Tigers will not have the services of first choice keeper Hafizuddin Othman due to shoulder injury. Another keeper, Che Shahrul Azmi Che Saufi, is also nursing a hamstring injury.
Sarjit will again bank on veteran forward Faizal Saari in the ACT.
"Some youngsters have done well in training and have earned the opportunity to play in the ACT," said Sarjit.
The other teams at the ACT are four-time champions India, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan and China. The Speedy Tigers will open their campaign against Pakistan on Sept 8.