Keeper Hafiz’s goal is to regain his spot in national team
National goalkeeper Muhd Hafizuddin Othman (pic) aims to make a strong claim for a place in the national team after being out of action for five months.
The 27-year-old Kuala Terengganu-born is eyeing to make a return in the six-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup from March 23-30 in Ipoh. He last played for Malaysia in a four-nation tournament in Darwin in October.
He is one of the four keepers in the national training squad. The others are the nation’s No. 1 custodian S. Kumar, Mohd Hairi Abdul Rahman and Muhd Zamri Mat Deris.
Unfortunately, Kumar will not feature in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as he is nursing a hamstring injury and it has given Hafizuddin a chance to fight for a place.
Hafizuddin, who has 87 international caps, wants to feature in his fifth Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
“I’ve not played for a while but I’m confident to make the cut as I’m more experienced compared to Hairi and Zamri,” said Hafizuddin, who is one of the 28 players in centralised training.
He suffered a hamstring injury on his left leg during training in June and was out of action for a few months.
He played a key role in the World League Semi-finals in London in 2017 to help Malaysia qualify for the World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India last year. But he did not get to play in the World Cup and also the Asian Games in Jakarta last August.
“I’m doing all I can in training to convince national coach Roelant (Oltmans) that I can play well. I want to play regularly in the national team,” said Hafizuddin, who made his international debut in the 2014 edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh.
Malaysia will also miss the services of national skipper and defender Muhd Sukri Abdul Mutalib, who broke his finger and defender Syed Mohamad Syafiq Syed Cholan, who is nursing a fractured wrist.
Malaysia open their campaign against Poland on March 23. Their other matches are against Asian Games gold medallists Japan on March 24 followed by India (March 26), South Korea (March 27) and Canada (March 29).