A CHARITY Shield between Sapura and Tenaga Nasional will kick-start the six-horse Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division at the Tun Razak Stadium today.
The match was supposed to be between Ernst and Young and Sapura, but because E&Y withdrew from the MHL, TNB were chosen instead.
On paper, TNB should be able to win hands down as they have many national players as well as young legs, while Sapura will be depending on former internationals.
Former skipper S. Kuhan is among Sapura’s cast, but the better bets are brothers Jiva and Jiwan Mohan who are still actively playing.
As for Tenaga, their stars in defence would be national defenders Madzli Ikmar and C. Baljit Singh, while they will also seven-time Best Goalkeeper S. Kumar between the posts.
Eighteen-year-old Faizal Shaari will also be making his MHL debut after scoring eight goals in the Junior World Cup, and two goals in the World Cup Qualifier in Invercargill, New Zealand.
TODAY: Charity Shield -- Sapura v TNB (Tun Razak Stadium, 8.30pm). Note: Live on Astro.
Tomorrow: UniKL v KL Hockey Club (Tun Razak Stadium, 6.30pm), Nur Insafi v Maybank (Tun Razak Stadium, 8.30pm).