Four players called up for national duty

The national hockey team will see four new faces in the squad.

Akhimullah Anuar Esook, Arif Syafie Ishak, Noor Firdaus Rosdi and Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal were called up for a special training camp to prepare for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh and FIH Men’s Final Series in Kuala Lumpur.

Both tournaments will be held from March 23-30 and April 26-May 4 respectively.

National head coach Roelant Oltmans, who was seen scouting during the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL), has identified 28 players for the camp, which will be held in Kuantan from March 10-16.

Najmi Farizal Jazlan also makes a return to the national team set-up. The training camp is a platform for the new players to build their combination and relationship with the regular players.

The target for the national team is to reach the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, and in their bid to achieve the goal, renowned penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema and goalkeeper Martin Drijver have been brought in to improve the team.

This year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will see Malaysia playing teams like South Africa, India, Canada, Japan and South Korea.

In last year’s edition of the tournament, Malaysia finished fourth after they were beaten by Argentina 3-1 in the third-fourth placing match.

Australia were the champions last year.