UAE forward Suhail Al Muhairi says his side will treat each game as a ‘final’ as they bid to win their third IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia title when they play their opener against Kuwait.
Having triumphed on home turf in 2009 and in Dehradun, India, in 2012, the hosts will face defending champions Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Thailand as well as Kuwait at Zayed Sports City Ice Rink in Abu Dhabi.
The hosts have been training for the last two weeks and Al Muhairi believes the UAE must get off to the best possible start against Kuwait.
“This tournament is much stronger than previous years,” said Al Muhairi, whose team will be led by Juma Al Dhari. “We have to play all the teams in the competition. We will treat each match as a final. Kuwait is our most important game and we cannot afford to slip up.”
Al Muhairi, who was part of the winning squad in 2009 and 2012, added: “It will feel great to win. We want to be the top in Asia and if we win this title, we will be the leading winners of the tournament alongside Chinese Taipei.”
And Al Muhairi says playing at home makes no difference.
“We get used to pressure,” said Al Muhairi. “We experienced this [home pressure] in 2009 when we won. We can adapt to it and can overcome it for this tournament.”
The forward believes Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Thailand, who have won four titles between them, will prove to be most difficult teams.
“They are the most physical teams in the competition,” said Al Muhairi. “They always show a high class of performance level. They are well prepared and well-trained. You can see the difference between these teams and the others.”
