DARREN COWIE and Dwain Quan Chan are looking to come out of retirement and vie for selection for the TTO men’s hockey team that will compete at the 2025 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Croatia from February 3-9.

The Trinidad and Tobago men’s indoor hockey team qualified for this World Cup after winning a silver medal at the 2024 Indoor Pan American Cup (IPAC) in Calgary, Canada last March , when the team’s goaltender, Ron Alexander, was named goaltender of the tournament.

IPAC men’s and women’s champions Argentina and the United States also qualified for the world tournament. Argentina defeated TTO in the final 5-2.

This will be the TTO men’s third appearance at a global indoor competition after competing in Vienna, Austria in 2007, where they were 12th overall, and in 2018 in Germany, where they placed. tenth in the general classification.

Men’s indoor team coach Raphael “Raffie” Govia said his team has been preparing for the world competition for weeks.

“The men have been active for about 26 sessions at the Woodbrook Youth Center so far,” said Govia, who praised authorities for allowing the World Cup team to use the venue. “We train three times a week and will be hiking up to four days a week in January before we leave for a warm-up in London.”

Govia, a former national player, said TTO and UK-based hockey icon Kwandwayne Browne helped arrange accommodation and matches for his surrounding clubs in the English capital.

“We are happy about it, especially with his busy schedule. As for our plans to compete against the best in the world, we are emphasizing a true Trini brand of hockey, blending fitness, skill and encouraging lots of offense,” Govia said. “We will go to Croatia to cause a lot of problems on the ground; we will not only participate but we will compete.

In their last outing, TTO finished tenth out of 12, beating Kazakhstan and going close against Poland and Australia,

Former national player Akim Toussaint, a member of Calgary’s TTO team that qualified, will join Govia as an assistant coach.

“He brings a strong, fluid mindset as a coach,” Govia said.

As for selecting the final team, Govia expects to have some “headaches” when that task is completed in early December due to circumstances he describes as “beyond their control.”

Govia said: “Indoor hockey requires a good ‘game brain’ and the ability to play in tight areas with skill and quick vision, which brings me to the return of Darren Cowie and Dwain Quan Chan. (That) definitely lifted the practice arena with their presence, and when they team up with (Jordan) Viera, (Mikell) Pierre, (Shaquille) Daniel, (Jordan) Reynos and Alexander.

Additionally, Govia expects senior national striker Teague Marcano to join the camp in December for a short period before returning to the UK for his indoor season, while the coaching staff have also been in contact with former German indoor team skipper Solomon Eccles, “who was here a month ago and didn’t look rusty on the field at all.”

Govia added: “So it’s going to be a selection headache for us, but it’s ideal for the high level of this World Cup, playing against the best in the world of indoor hockey. Regarding local hockey, an indoor tournament will be organized in January by one of our local clubs. The participation of our final team will be discussed due to the approach of our departure date.

TTO is expected to be part of a group including Australia, Namibia and Belgium in Croatia.