Sheer grit helps Che Shahrul keep tight grip on goal
HIGH determination and sheer perseverance has kept young goalkeeper Che Shahrul Azmi Che Saufi on track, allaying fears of early premature retirement until now, finally getting a chance to earn his stripes with the national men’s hockey team.
The 23-year-old player from Negeri Sembilan revealed that he once felt hopelessly adrift when he could not get a national call-up despite helping the country’s U-18 hockey 5-aside (Hockey 5s) squad win the gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“There are many who would have quit, but I know what my standard is, so I kept looking forward to the next tournaments,” he said during a training session with the “Speedy Tigers” at Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium.
Sticking to that grit, Che Shahrul continued his passion to help Malaysia win the silver medal at the World Cup Hockey 5s in Oman earlier this year, in addition to a sterling run in his 2024 Malaysian Hockey League debut to help Nurinsafi Sporting finish in fourth place.
This managed to attract the attention of manager Sarjit Singh to finally call him to join the Speedy Tigers training camp last month.
This is the first time he has been called up to the senior training squad and Che Shahrul believes he can make it to the final 18-player list for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (May 4-11) squad in Ipoh out of 30 players who are in training camp now.
He faces stiff competition from experienced players such as Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman, Muhamad Zaimi Mat Deris and Adrian Andy Albert to grab two goalkeeper positions for the invitational tournament.
Sarjit will announce the squad to defend the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on May 1, after the friendly match against New Zealand in Ipoh. – Bernama