Johor hope cops will release Farah for Razak Cup

KUALA LUMPUR: Johor are hoping to get national goalkeeper Farah Ayuni Yahya to beef up their squad for the second women’s Razak Cup hockey tournament, to be held at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium from Nov 18-26.

Coach Lailin Abu Hassan said that the Johor Hockey Association had requested the Royal Malaysian Police to release the country’s top goalkeeper, who is an inspector, for the tournament.

“We are waiting for their reply. She will be a great help in guiding the younger players, including goalkeeper Nurshakella (Mohamed Sari), who will be featuring in next year’s Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Ipoh,” said Lailin.

The Johor team will be led by national forward Hanis Nadia Onn, who scored four goals in the recently-ended Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Japan.

Lailin said that 70% of the team comprised players from the Sukma squad.

“We have five seniors and two national team players. Ours is a relatively young team but we’re determined to do our best in the tournament,” he said.

The five seniors, who also competed in the 2016 edition, are Norafiza Sulaiman, Marlia Mohamed, Noor Hayati Sirkam, Nurul Nadia Aziz and Fatin Nabilah Husna Mansor.

Nine teams will feature in the Razak Cup tournament and Johor are in Group B with Armed Forces, Selangor and Malacca.

Defending champions Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Perak and debutants Indonesia are in Group A.

Pahang outplayed Armed Forces 4-0 in the final at the Tun Razak Stadium last year.

Johor finished eighth after losing 2-1 to Terengganu and Lailin wants them to do better this year.

Johor will open their campaign against Armed Forces on Saturday.