KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s hockey team plan to get high-intensity matches in their playing tour in Perth, Australia from Jan 16-24 in preparation for the World Cup qualifying tournament in Ismailia, Egypt from March 1-7.
World No. 13 Malaysia will play three friendly matches against the Thundersticks team and two matches against world No. 5 Australia.
Eight teams will feature in the World Cup qualifiers. Malaysia are drawn in Group B with world No. 14 Pakistan, Austria (No. 21) and China (No. 23).
Group A has world No. 7 England, South Korea (No. 16), Egypt (No. 17) and the United States (No. 25). From there, three teams will qualify for the World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium in August.
National coach Sarjit Singh, who leaves with the team for Perth today, said playing against Australia will give his players the opportunity to adapt to pressure and high tempo matches.
He said three juniors — Andywalfian Jeffrynus, Adam Ashraf Johari and Danish Aiman Khairil Anuar — who played in last month’s Junior World Cup in India, joined the senior team for the tour.
“This combination is important to ensure team balance in addition to giving young players the opportunity to gain experience at senior level.
“The tour is also to see the level of discipline, tactical understanding and consistency in performance.”
Sarjit said of the current 22-player squad, 20 will be chosen for the mission in Ismailia.
The 22-player squad:
Goalkeepers: Hafizuddin Othman, Adrian Andy Albert
Defenders: Marhan Mohd Jalil, Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan, Faiz Helmi Jali, Andywalfian Jeffrynus, Nur Asyraf Ishak, Ariff Syafie Ishak, Syarman Mat Tee, Shafiq Hassan
Midfielders: Fitri Saari, Nik Muhammad Aiman Nik Rozemi, Shello Silverius, Alfarico Lance Liau Jr, Adam Ashraf Johari, Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal
Forwards: Norsyafiq Sumantri, Muhajir Abdu Rauf, Ashran Hamsani, Akhimullah Anuar Esook, Faizal Saari, Danish Aiman Khairil Anuar.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
