Malaysia Are Taking the Speedy Tigers to Perth for a 10-Day Camp After the Champions Trophy
Most teams go home after a Champions Trophy. Malaysia are going to Perth.
Head coach Sarjit Singh told the New Straits Times on Wednesday that the Speedy Tigers will stay on the road after the Asian Champions Trophy in Punjab and hold a 10-day training camp in Perth from 16 to 26 November. The point of it isn’t the camp itself. It’s what the camp is aimed at: the Asian Cup in August 2027, which doubles as a World Cup qualifier.
A proper test first
Before any of that, Malaysia get their Champions Trophy exam. They open against China in Jalandhar on 27 October, first game of the whole tournament, and Sarjit isn’t dressing the target up. A top-four finish and a semi-final place is the aim, in a six-team field where India start as holders and favourites on home soil.
That’s a fair target, honestly. Malaysia are good enough to beat anyone in that field on a good day and loose enough to lose to anyone on a bad one. The semi-final line is exactly where they live.
Why Perth, why then
Perth means the Kookaburras’ backyard, hard pitches, and training opposition that doesn’t let you hide. Ten days there, straight off a tournament, is a coach banking fitness and habits while the group is already together, rather than sending everyone home and starting again in January.
It’s also a tell about how Malaysia see the next year. The Asian Cup is the one that matters, because it’s the door to the World Cup. Everything between now and August, the Champions Trophy included, is preparation with a scoreboard attached. Six of the India squad they’ll face first have their own story this week — the Surjit Academy homecoming.
For our money, that’s the right way round. Too many teams peak for the wrong tournament. Malaysia are at least being honest about which one counts.
