Hockey team should stick to Hairi as keeper in World Cup

KUALA LUMPUR: Goalkeeper Mohd Hairi Abdul Rahman (pic) is keeping up the good work – after proving he’s a steady figure between the posts in tournaments in the last eight months.

For that, he looks set to be named for the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.

And Hairi is fancied to be the first-choice after his outstanding performance in the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, Oman, last month.

Malaysia’s top keeper S. Kumar did not play a single match in the Asian Champions Trophy as he was recovering from a thumb injury he suffered in training.

National coach Roelant Oltmans was impressed with Hairi’s performance in in Oman.

“He played in all the seven matches and made some good saves.

“Hairi also played a big part in the penalty shootout by making some fine saves to help Malaysia finish third over Japan,” said the Dutchman.

Malaysia edged Asian Games gold medallists Japan 3-2 in a penalty shootout after both teams were tied 2-2 in the third-placing match.

The 27-year-old Hairi, who featured in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April and the Asian Games in Jakarta in August, is keeping his fingers crossed that he will feature in his first World Cup after his impressive outing in Oman.

There are four keepers in the national team. Apart from Hairi and Kumar, the other two are Mohd Hafizuddin Othman and Muhd Zaimi Mat Deras, who featured in the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup in Johor Baru last month.

Zaimi has yet to play for the national senior team in that tournament while Hafizuddin has just recovered from a knee injury.

There are 24 players in the training squad and Oltmans will name 20 on Monday.

Kumar and Hairi are sure to make the cut for the World Cup.

Oltmans added that Kumar’s services are needed as he is vastly experienced and is an asset to the team.

Kumar played a crucial part in helping Malaysia to finish a creditable fourth in the World League Semi-Finals in London last year to qualify for the World Cup. He was also named the tournament’s best keeper.

A total of 16 teams will feature in the World Cup and Malaysia open their campaign against Holland on Dec 1, followed by matches against Pakistan (Dec 5) and Germany (Dec 9).