Nurinsafi lifeline keeps Shahrul’s dream of becoming national keeper alive

JAYA: Che Shahrul Azmi Che Saufi had almost given up on becoming a national goalkeeper as he was hardly getting the deserving breaks but a brilliant spell with Nurinsafi in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) has resurrected his career.

Shahrul, 23, was part of the gold-medal winning side of the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and also played a key role as Malaysia finished runners-up at the Hockey5s World Cup in Oman in January.

Both tournaments were five-aside events and this had made Shahrul struggle to find a team at this year’s MHL but Nurinsafi threw him a lifeline by making him their first-choice goalkeeper.

Shahrul used the opportunity prove that he was equally good in field hockey by performing well where Nurinsafi placed fourth, their best finish in the MHL so far.

His exploits for Nurinsafi even earned the praises national goalkeepers coach S. Kumar, who witnessed his performance in several MHL matches.

Shahrul said he was contemplating quitting as there was hardly any opportunity to prolong his career, let alone realising his dream of making it to the national team.

“I didn’t get much breaks after the Youth Olympics and I had thoughts of quitting hockey but I decided to fight on. I never thought I would get selected for the national senior squad,” said Shahrul.

“I believe the chance to play for Nurinsafi in the MHL this year helped me and I did do well in the league.

“I must now compete with three senior goalkeepers to get my opportunity to play in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (May 4-11). I have a lot to improve on and learn from the seniors to become a better goalkeeper.

“It is not going to be easy to get international breaks but I will not stop working hard and will patiently wait for my turn.”

First-choice goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman, Zaimi Mat Deris and Adrian Andy Albert have the experience of playing in international competitions and will be the preferred choices for the Azlan Shah Cup.

However, national head coach Sarjit Singh is keen on rotating his players in competitions to give his untested players a chance to taste international action and this will open the doors for Shahrul to play for Malaysia soon.

He is not the favourite to fill in the two goalkeepers’ slots for the Azlan Shah Cup but Shahrul, if his progress is anything to go by, could be considered for the Nations Cup in Poland from May 31-June 9 or the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia in Sept 8-17.