KUALA LUMPUR: The Young Tigresses must come up with an effective strategy to stop favourites and defending champions India, powered by five senior players, in a Women's Junior Asia Cup (JAC) Group B match in Muscat tomorrow.
India, coached by Tushar Khandker, are led by seniors Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Sunelita Toppo, Mumtaz Khan, Deepika, and Beauty Dungdung.
Malaysia, ranked No. 17 in the world junior rankings, defeated minnows Thailand 3-0 in their opening match on Saturday.
However, coach Lailin Abu Hassan has urged his players to sharpen their game, particularly after converting just three of 11 penalty corners against Thailand.
For the record, Malaysia were beaten by world No. 6 India twice in previous editions.
Malaysia were thrashed 9-1 in the 2015 edition in Changzhou, China, and lost 2-1 in last year's event in Kakamigahara, Japan.
Lailin said his team need a good strategy to match India tomorrow.
"The girls must stick to instructions and improve on finishing," said Lailin.
The top five teams in Muscat will qualify for next year's Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile.
Results
Group A: Malaysia 3 Thailand 0, China 19 Bangladesh 0;
Group B: Japan 15 Sri Lanka 0, Taiwan 7 Hong Kong 0.
Tomorrow's fixtures (Dec 9)
Group A: Malaysia vs India (11pm).
Group B: Taiwan vs South Korea (8.45pm)
* Malaysian time.