Five Junior World Cup players for Sultan of Johor Cup
MALAYSIA will field five Junior World Cup players for the Sultan of Johor Cup at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru on Oct 22-29
But the star attraction will be Junior World Cup champions India, making a comeback to the tournament, while the United States will make their debut.
The other teams in the annual tournament are defending champions Australia, Britain and Japan.
A battery of coaches have been training the Malaysian team, led by coach Wallace Tan. The others are Amin Rahim, Nor Saiful Zaini, Madzli Ikmar and goalkeepers coach M. Nadarajah.
“Presently I have a squad of 30 players and we have held several phases of training in preparation for the SOJC.
“But looking at the teams, it will be a tough tournament and the opening two matches will surely be a test for the team,” said Wallace.
Malaysia open their campaign against Britain followed by India.
“We will assemble the team again later this month, and plan to hold our final week of training in Johor a week before the tournament and hopefully get to play some friendly matches,” said Wallace.
Britain will be the first team to arrive in Johor Baru on Oct 17 and are expected to play some matches against the Johor Razak Cup squad.
Organising secretary of SOJC Datuk Manjit Majid Abdullah said: “This year the matches will be played in four quarters format in line with the requirements of the International Hockey Federation.
“We plan to hold several seminars and courses in collaboration with the AHF Academy as well as coaching clinics for schoolchildren as part of our commitment to promote the sport.
“We hope that fans will make it a point to be at the stadium not only to support our Malaysian team but to watch the future stars of world hockey in action,” said Manjit. Jugjet Singh