Dharmaraj picks 20 women for Europe Tour
women’s coach K. Dharmaraj will take 20 players to Europe for friendly matches before trimming his squad to 18 for the FIH Series Finals in Banbridge, Northern Ireland on June 8-16.
The World No 22 must finish top-two in Banbridge to advance to the next round of the Olympic qualifiers as their ranking is too low to carry them through like the national men’s team.
Malaysia are in Group A with Ireland (World No 8), the Czech Republic (No 19) and Singapore (No 35).
South Korea (No 11), Scotland (No 18), Ukraine (No 26) and France (No 30) make up Group B.
“I have included two additional players for the European Tour in case of injury. It is also because all 20 players had given their best in training, so it is only fair to conduct the final selection in Europe,” said Dharmaraj.
Malaysia will head for Italy on May 23 with 16-year-old Kirendeep Kaur in good form to make the final 18 for the Series Finals.
She made her international debut in the World Series in Singapore, followed by the Asian Games in Jakarta, both last year.
“My team are ranked too low and have to finish top-two in Northern Ireland to play in the next round of the Olympic qualifiers.
“We will play friendlies in Italy and Scotland before heading to Banbridge.
“We must beat the Czech Republic and Singapore to finish second in Group A to qualify for the playoffs, where we will face Scotland or Ukraine.
“Ireland are too good for Malaysia, but one never knows until we test them again,” said Dharmaraj.
In their last meeting, Ireland won 3-0 in the 2017 World League Round Two in Kuala Lumpur.
The squad — Goalkeepers: Farah Ayuni Yahaya, Mas Huzaimah Aziz;
Defenders : Siti Noor Amarina Ruhani, Julaini Din, Nuraini Rashid, Raja Norsharina Shahbuddin, Nur Maizatulhanim Syafi; Midfielders:
Nurul Syafiqah Mat Isa, Noor Hasliza Ali, Fatin Shafiqa Sukri, Fazilla Sylvester Silin; Forwards:
Wan Norfaiezah Saiuti, Surizan Awang Noh, Hanis Nadiah Onn, Nuraslinda Said, Nur Zafirah Aziz, Norazlin Sumantri, Nir Amirah Zulkifli, Kirandeep Kaur, Siti Zulaikha Husain.