KUALA LUMPUR: Teenager Azimuddin Syakir Kamaruddin and former National Junior goalkeeper Che Sharul Azmi Che Saupi are the two new faces named in the national hockey squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup that will be held at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium in Ipoh from May 4-11.
Forward Azimuddin, 19, and Che Sharul Azmi, 23, were among the 18 players selected by national team head coach Sarjit Singh for the tournament yesterday.
“We, the coaches, hope the seniors and youngsters in the team can quickly forge an understanding and this team can make an impact in international tournaments.
“We hope the players can perform consistently and confidently, besides showing good attitude throughout the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament,” Sarjit said in a statement shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) last night.
The Speedy Tigers received a shot in the arm when they edged New Zealand 3-2 in a warm-up match on Wednesday.
World number 13 Malaysia will begin their Sultan Azlan Shah Cup campaign by taking on three-time champions Pakistan on Saturday (May 4), followed by matches against Canada (May 5), two-time champions New Zealand (May 7), Japan (May 8) and three-time champions South Korea (May 10).
Based on the tournament format, the top two teams after the round-robin league will slug it out for the title while the third and fourth-placed teams will vie for third place.
Following is the list of 18 players selected for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup:
Goalkeepers: Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman, Che Sharul Azmi Che Saupi
Defence: Muhammad Marhan Jalil (Captain), Syed Mohamad Syafiq Syed Cholan, Muhammad Amirul Hamizan Azhar, Muhamad Shafiq Hassan, Muhammad Najib Abu Hassan, Syarman Mat Tee
Midfield: Mohd Fitri Saari, Nik Muhammad Aiman Nik Rozemi, Shello Silverius, Norsyafiq Sumantri, Alfarico Lance Liau Jr
Forward: Faizal Saari, Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Muhajir Abdu Rauf, Mohamad Akhimullah Anuar Esook, Azimuddin Syakir Kamaruddin. — BERNAMA
