Great Britain finally ramped up the heat on their Tokyo Olympic preparations with matchplay after seven days of quarantine in Kuala Lumpur.
On Sunday they played the first of five matches against Japan and Malaysia at the national hockey stadium in KL. All teams moved to a new hotel and are now in a sports bubble.
In an uncapped match, Rupert Shipperley and James Gall scored goals in a 2-2 draw against Japan, the Olympic hosts.
Great Britain Hockey Performance Director, Ed Barney, said: “The heat and humidity in Tokyo is a key piece of the Olympic Games environment and is something that the men’s squad will experience in Malaysia.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve been growing our experience in these environments and continue to have a number of creative strategies to ensure we are exceptionally well prepared.”
GB Women prep at home
Mark Hager’s side will host a series of practice matches against Ireland on 27, 28 and 30 April, with the final match on Sunday 2 May.
All of the games are being played behind closed doors and will not be streamed.
GB were due to travel to Malaysia but pulled out at the last minute after Ireland also cancelled their trip.
Reports in Malaysia suggest that changes to travel rules meant that Ireland would have been forced into 10 days of quarantine once they returned to Dublin.
GB Hockey schedule:
GB men:
Sunday 18 April: Great Britain v Japan, 14:00 BST
Monday 19 April: Malaysia v Great Britain 14:00 BST
Wednesday 21 April: Japan v Great Britain 14:00 BST
Thursday 22 April: Malaysia v Great Britain 14:00 BST
Saturday 24 April: Great Britain v Japan 03:00 BST
GB women:
Tuesday 27 April: Great Britain v Ireland, 10:00 BST
Wednesday 28 April: Great Britain v Ireland, 18:00 BST
Friday 30 April: Great Britain v Ireland, 14:00 BST
Sunday 2 May: Great Britain v Ireland, 13:00 BST
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