Dutchman De Wijn out to make his presence felt for UniKL in MHL
KUALA LUMPUR: Dutch international Sander de Wijn vows to make an explosive debut in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).
Just a day after arriving in Malaysia, the 27-year-old midfielder has promised to lead his team, the Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) to their first MHL title.
The university team have yet to win a title since making their debut in 2011.
De Wijn will be banking on his vast experience to make a difference for the team.
De Wijn has played in two Olympics – London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016. He also featured in the 2014 World Cup in The Hague, Holland.
Holland were silver medallists in London and The Hague.
He was also the member of the Dutch side that won the European Championships in Amsterdam in August.
The Dutchman said he was inspired to play in the MHL after his stint in the Hockey India League (HIL).
“I felt my playing days were over after the Rio Olympics but playing in the HIL gave me a fresh perspective,” said De Wijn, who led Dabang Mumbai to a runner-up finish in the six-team league.
Aware of the strong presence of foreigners in the other teams, De Wijn said: “I expect nothing but a closely-contested tournament.”
UniKL have signed six foreign players and three Malaysian internationals in a bid to end their title drought in the MHL this year.
Besides De Wijn, the other foreigners are three Australians - Glenn Turner, Kieran Gowrers and Tim Deavin; an Irishman David Harte and another Dutchman Jeroen Hertzberger.
The national players are Mohd Marhan Mohd Jalil, Najmi Farizal and Joel Samuel van Huizen. They’ve also recalled ex-international Kevin Lim.
The Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup begins tomorrow and UniKL will begin their campaign against Division One team Selangor at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
UniKL coach A. Arulselvaraj said they would not take Selangor lightly.
“I won’t tolerate complacency. Every player will be expected to fight for playing time,” said Arul.
“We need to stay focused and consistent in order to win at least one silverware this season to repay the management’s faith in us,” he said.