Indonesian national hockey team coach Dharma Raj is targeting his team to reach the top six of the Asian Games as a realistic step towards opening up a chance of appearing in the Olympic qualifying round.
"We have to try to get into the top six. It's tough, but it's a realistic target. If we talk about the podium straight away, people will laugh at us. The important thing now is to improve our ranking and pursue the chance to qualify for the Olympics," Dharma Raj told.
Dharma said the national team is now maximizing the remaining two months of preparation time by increasing international friendlies. After a training camp in Darwin, Australia, the men's team is scheduled to depart for Taiwan this weekend before continuing the training camp in Malaysia.
According to him, the results of the trial in Darwin served as a valuable resource for the team's evaluation. The women's team secured a series with two wins, one draw, and one loss, while the men's team recorded one win, one draw, and two losses.
