National Juniors coach Arul Selvaraj and team manager Mirnawan Nawawi face the most laborious task in the run-up to the 8th Men’s Junior Asia Cup from Nov 14-22 in Kuantan – picking the best 18 out of 19 players in the current training squad.
Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s Muhd Najib Abu Hasan will lead the team of 18 players to the Junior Asia Cup. He had also captained the side at the Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) where Malaysia defeated Argentina 3-2 to finish third.
The Malaysians are drawn in Group A alongside India, Japan and China. They take on China in their opening match on Nov 14 followed by matches against India (Nov 15) and Japan (Nov 17) at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan, before heading into the quarterfinals.
In Group B, Pakistan, who finished last in the just concluded six-team SOJC, has for company Oman, Korea and Bangladesh.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation has set Arul’s boys a target of qualifying for the Junior World Cup in India next year which means the team must advance to the semi-finals stage in Kuantan to succeed in their mission.
“We had 21 players in the squad but two have fallen out due to injuries suffered in SOJC, leaving us with only 19 in training now,” said Arul during a press conference announcing the team for the Junior Asia Cup. “It is going to be a far difficult decision for the team management as we need to drop only one player.”
“However, we will drop one player on Nov 9 after the juniors’ friendly match against the seniors at the National Hockey Stadium,” Arul added. “It will be a tough decision as everyone is very committed and physically are at a better level now than in SOJC.”
Mohd Aminuddin Mohd Zain and Nor Azrul Rahman, who featured in SOJC, have been ruled out due to hamstring injuries. But the coach can at least take comfort in the return from injury of Rafizul Ezry Mustafa and Mohd Sufi Ismat, who both injured their hamstrings during training.
On the match against India, Arul said he is confident of a good show from the boys following their 2-1 narrow margin of defeat against India at the SOJC.
“The first three matches are very important and we must do well, not just against India. Even China is playing exceptionally well and we have to play to our potential to qualify for the quarterfinals first,” said Arul.
The squad – Goalkeepers: Mohamed Ridzwan Azmi (UniKL), Mohd Adi Fazri Abdul Rahim (UniKL).
Defenders: Muhd Najib Abu Hassan (Capt, TNB), Muhd Amirol Aideed Md Arshad (TNB), Zulpidaus Mizun (UniKL), Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan (TNB), Muhd Nazmi Farizal Jazlan (UniKL), Ahmad Ashraf Alias (UniKL).
Midfielders: Mohd Ashran Hamsani (UniKL), Meor Muhamad Azuan Hasan (UniKL), Muhammad Firdaus Omar (TNB), Rafizul Ezry Mustafa (UniKL).
Forwards: Nik Mohd Aiman Nik Rozemi (Terengganu), Mohd Sufi Ismat Rohulamin (UniKL), Muhd Haziq Samsul (UniKL), Abdul Khaliq Hamirin (UniKL), Norsyafiq Sumantri (Sapura), Muhammad Shahril Saabah (TNB), Muhd Azwar Abdul Rahman (UniKL).