Three national women’s senior team players have been invited by Uddingston Hockey Club to represent the team in the 2024 Scottish Premier Division.
Khairunnisa Ayuni Mohd Sharuddin, Nurul Fatin Fatiah Azman and Nur Afiqah Syahzani Azhar will depart for Edinburgh tomorrow (Sunday, 1st September).
The Scotland Premier League will begin on 15 September and conclude on 16 November, 2024. The Scottish women’s hockey team is ranked 16th in the current FIH World Rankings.
According to a statement released by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) today, the trio are expected to return home on 3rd November to join the national squad training camp in their preparation for the Asian Women’s Champions Trophy which will be held in the month of November.
Khairunnisa Ayuni, Nurul Fatin Fatiah and Nur Afiqah’s performance during the recent Malaysian Tigress tour of Wales impressed Uddingston Hockey Club coaches who took the opportunity to watch the Malaysians in action against the Wales national team in Cardiff City.
National senior women’s team coach Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim said Khairunnisa Ayuni, Nurul Fatin Fatiah and Nur Afiqah gave a high-quality impressive performance in six matches against the Welsh team. Their dedication and commitment impressed the Scottish talent scouting team.
“In line with MHC’s aspiration, we need to play more matches against high quality foreign teams and clubs to help the players gain experience,” said Nasihin. “This kind of exposure and experience will add a positive impact on the team.”
He added that the coaching team would like to see all three players take this opportunity to improve their skills and play key roles in the national team’s challenge at the Asian Champions Trophy.
“Scotland women hockey is among the top ranked teams in Europe. I am confident the three players will benefit from this experience. They must earn the respect of coaches, work hard and give their best performance in the Scottish League,” added Nasihin.
For the record, several national senior women players have been offered contracts by foreign clubs previously to compete in their domestic leagues. Among them were Farah Ayuni Yahya, Nuraini Abdul Rashid, Fatin Shafika Mohd Sukri, Wan Norfaiezah Md Saiuti, Hanis Nadiah Onn, Julaini Mohamad Din, Nuramirah Shakirah Zulkifli and Nur Maziatulhanim Syafi Sheik Fuad.
