Young squad not likely to steal the thunder

03/02/1999

WITH an average age of 23, the Malaysian hockey team on a Five-Nation
mission in Egypt are not expected to steal the thunder from Canada and
India.
But on the same note, they are also not expected to lose to Egypt and
Kenya.
Malaysia beat Kenya 4-0 in the opening match of the Kuala Lumpur
Commonwealth Games, but then, they had a more experienced team to bank on.
The team, captained by 22-year-old S. Kuhan, has only the 26-year-old
Chairil Anwar as the `veteran' of the team.
With youngsters M. Jiwa, Suhaimi Ibrahim, M. Kaliswaran and Razak Saidin
upfront, Malaysia are likely to face an uphill battle even against Kenya
and Egypt.
When the selection commiteee, chaired by Malaysian Hockey Federation
(MHF) president Sultan Azlan Shah, met to find the right combination to
lead Malaysian hockey into the next millennium, they decided on youth
power and selected 16 raw hands.
But in actual fact, they did not have much of a choice because some of
the veterans who took Malaysia into the final of the Commonwealth Games
are no longer active in hockey.
Seniors Lailin Abu Hassan, Nor Saiful Zaini and R. Shanker have retired
while others like Mirnawan Nawawi, K. Kevan Raj, Maninderjit Singh and
Nasihin Nubli had other obligations.
The player to watch at Egypt is goalkeeper Izwan Suhardi who was named
along with Roslan Jamaluddin. Izwan, 25, has only seen action three times
on the international front but was selected in place of Nasihin Nubli.
Before coach Yahya Atan took the team to Egypt, he predicted that they
would need at least 30 to 40 top class matches before a shape is found.
"The Cairo mission would be too early to judge the team since we will be
trying out various combinations but by the time the Azlan Shah Cup begins
in April, we should have a rough idea," said Yahya.
Team: M. Jiwa, Azlin Fairuz, Chua Boon Huat, K. Gobinathan, S. Kuhan
(capt), Nor Azlan Bakar, Chairil Anwar, Shaiful Azli, Madzli Ikmar,
Suhaimi Ibrahim, M. Kaliswaran, K. Logan Raj, Syayrim Uda Karim, Razak
Saidin, Izwan Suhardi, Roslan Jamaluddin.
Manager: Wallace Tan; Coach: Yahya Atan; Umpire: S. Sagayanathan.
Fixtures - Today: Canada v India, Kenya v Malaysia; Tomorrow: Egypt v
Malaysia; Feb 5: India v Egypt, Canada v Kenya; Feb 6: Canada v Malaysia;
Feb 7: Kenya v Egypt, India v Malaysia; Feb 8: Rest Day; Feb 9: Final
Classification Matches.
(END)