Four women hockey players to feature in Germany

KUALA LUMPUR: Women’s hockey appear to be making strides as forward Hanis Nadiah Onn and three others were selected for the European League.

Hanis and striker Wan Norfaiezah Saiuti will feature for German Division One club Sportverein Zehlendorfer Wespen 1911 while defender Nuraini Abdul Rashid and midfielder Fatin Shafika Shukri will play for Butterfly Roma Hockey Club in the Italian Division One League.

The four players will be attached to their respective clubs for two months from Sept 3 to Nov 3.

Malaysian Hockey Confederation ( MHC) president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said it was the first time women players were invited by the German and Italian clubs to play in their respective leagues.

“All the expenses of the four players will be borne by the two clubs. We thank former international S. Selvaraju, who is based in Italy to facilitate this,” said Subahan.

“These players need as much exposure as they can get to further improve their game. They will surely benefit as they will learn the European style of play.”

The 22-year-old Hanis is hoping her short stint in the German League will be good preparation ahead of the Asian Games in Jakarta starting on Aug 18.

“I’m excited to play in a foreign league for the first time ... it’s one of the top hockey leagues in the world.

“The stint will help make Norfaiezah and I sharper in scoring goals. We’ll learn as much as possible to give our best in the Asiad,” said Hanis, who was named the most promising Asian junior player in 2017.

Before Hanis, Norfaiezah, Nuraini and Fatin, two Malaysian women hockey players – Fazilla Slyvester Silin and Siti Amarina Ruhani – featured abroad when they represented Castelldefels Club in the Spanish League in 2013.