Hockey goalkeeper Siti Zalia Nasir is young and an ambitious person. The 19-year-old Kuala Lumpur-born, who was drafted into the national womenās team in March 2020, is eyeing the best goalkeeper award in the National Women’s League which is scheduled to begin on January 20.
The youngest among six siblings, Siti will be featuring for debutants Universiti Kuala Lumpur Ladies in the six-team womenās league. The other teams are overall champions PKS-Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten)-KPT, Blues Warriors, Impian Mutiara, Sabah and Young Tigress.
The Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) undergraduate is confident of claiming the award to fulfil her personal ambition in the national team following the absence of a serious challenge from senior goalkeepers Farah Ayuni Yahya and Mas Huzaimah who have since been dropped from the national team.
Siti, who took up hockey at the age of 10, said she is thrilled to be in the national squad for the past 11 months.
“It is every playerās dream to play for the national team and I am happy to be part of the team at the age of 18. I am young and I am hungry for action with the national team this year,ā she stressed.
“I have set a personal target this season of winning the best goalkeeper award and I will have to work hard to achieve this with UniKL,” said Siti.
“I will be playing in the national league for the third consecutive time and my mission is to play to my true form,ā she added.
“I must start proving myself in the national league to be given the opportunity to be the first choice goalkeeper in the national team. Winning the award will definitely increase my chances,ā said Siti, who made her debut for KL Wipers in 2019.
“I have made progress since my debut in the national league in 2019 but this season will be crucial as the national coaches will be watching me closely. I have put a lot of effort in training under UniKL coach Roslan Jamaluddin who is also the national women’s goalkeepers coach,” said Siti.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic and Movement Control Order (MCO) has put the brakes on the national team training and playing schedules as all international tournaments were cancelled last year.
Her mission this year is to compete in the Junior Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Japan in April, which is the qualifying tournament for the 2021 Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa in December.
