Santiago: The national women's hockey team will travel to Santiago, Chile, for the 2026 FIH World Cup Qualifiers, scheduled from March 1-8, aimed at gaining exposure and experience.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Speedy Tigress coach Mohd Nasihin Nubli stressed that their mission this time is to expose the younger players to a competitive tournament, especially in facing world-class teams. "The focus for our women's team is 'performance and process'. This is because we will be fielding six players from our 2025 Junior World Cup squad," he said yesterday.

The coach highlighted the importance of optimizing the World Cup Qualifiers for high-level exposure, which is crucial for the development of the women's team moving forward. At the event in Santiago, Malaysia has been drawn in Group B alongside Ireland, Canada, and Japan. Group A will feature Australia, Chile, France, and Switzerland.

The Speedy Tigress is set to begin their Group B campaign against Ireland on March 3, followed by matches against Canada on March 4 and Japan on March 6. As per the competition format, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.