Malaysia were the first winners of the inaugural Sultan of Johor Cup and this was in 2011, The seventh edition of the annual Under-21 Invitational tournament gets underway at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru on Sunday and team manager Nur Saiful Zaini did not mince his words when he said it will be a “test of character” for the Malaysian juniors.
The weeklong tournament will see the United States of America making their debut – joining five other regulars, including defending champions Australia, reigning Junior World Cup champions India, Great Britain and Japan.
“Contrary to what is said, we have assembled a very strong team for SOJC 2017 and are certainly not participating merely to test players,” said Nur Saiful Zaini, team manager of the Malaysia team, adding that the present team is blended with players who had competed in SOJC before and several debutants.
“This is our development squad. Some players will graduate to play for the senior team in time to come. There is plenty of quality in this squad and we will take one match at a time to assess our performance..
“In reality, this is an Under-21 tournament and we will be playing against players who have been recently drafted into their respective teams. Unlike the senior teams of these countries where we are aware of their strength it’s different here in the SOJC. It is going to be a new challenge for every team.
“Until we play our first match we will never know the strength of the opposition. I believe it’s the same for the other teams. Technically we know nothing of the Indian, Australians or even the strength of the Japanese sides. But we will take one match at a time and go from there,” said Nor Saiful, adding that even Indfia and Australia have brought their development teams.
Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) forward Shello Silverius will captain the Malaysian Juniors in the tournament.
Two-time champions India makes a return in the tournament after missing out the 2016 edition. They finished second in the 2015 SOJC where they lost 3-4 in penalty shootout to Great Britain in the final. The others teams competing are Australia, Japan, Great Britain and new comers United States of America.
India named an 18-member team captained by Vivek Sagar Prasad while Pratap Lakra has been named as the vice-captain. India will take on Japan in the opening match of the tournament on Oct 22 (4pm) followed by matches between Australia and United States (6pm) whilst Malaysia takes on Japan in the last match (8.0pm).
The Indian colts have been training for the tournament at the National Camp at SAI, Lucknow since September 11.
“The team has been training with the objective of performing well at the upcoming Sultan of Johor Cup. We have a very strong pool of players at the junior level who believe in themselves, and this tournament will give the right amount of exposure,” said India’s Coach Jude Felix.
“I believe this will be a start to our long-term objective of retaining the World Cup title at this level,” he added.
Malaysia won the inaugural tournament in 2011, followed by Germany (2012), India (2013 and 2014), Britain (2015) and Australia (2016). The US hockey team, who are ranked 26th in the world, had requested to compete in the tournament.
Among the sponsors for Sultan of Johor Cup are the Johor state government (RM500,000), Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd and RTM (RM200,000 each); Yayasan Harmoni, Genting Berhad, UM Land, Johor Corporation, JBB Builders and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (RM100,000 each); and SAJ Holdings, Iskandar Waterfront, Kumpulan BCB Berhad and Berjaya Times Square (RM50,000 each).BY RIZAL ABDULLAHÂ
Malaysian Squad: Adrian Andy Albert, Muhammad Zaimi Mat Deris (Goalkeepers), Muhammad Nursyahmi Zulkifli, Muhammad Amirul Hamizan Azahar, Nik Muhammad Aiman Nik Rozemi, Mohamad Firdaus Omar, Mohamad Zulhamizan Awang Abas, Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Syarman Mat Tee, Luqman Nul Hakim Ahmad Shukran, Mohamad Akhimullah Anuar Esook, Muhammad Hafiizhuddin Zaidi, Muhammad Arif Syafie Ishak, Norsyafiq Sumantri, Muhammad Shafiq Hassan, Shello Silverius, Muhammad Hazzim Amin, Faiq Razin Zariq Idris, Muhammad Idris Samad, Muhammad Izham Azhar.
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