NATIONAL seniors coach Paul Revington made a clear statement that he will not tolerate laggards, when he slammed the door or national juniors skipper Noor Faeez Ibrahim for failing to buck up.
Noor Faez skippered the Junior Asia Cup side which won gold in Malacca and took Malaysia into the New Delhi Junior World Cup, but his attitude as well as form had dropped tremendously since.
And South African Revington had no choice but to drop him from the 26 trainees named for World League Semi-finals on June 29 to July 7 in Johor Baru.
“I had no choice but to drop Faeez, because his form and his appoach towards the sport had dropped tremendously. One could see the change during the MHL (Malaysia Hockey League) and I can’t afford players like this as we prepare for the World League,” said Paul Revington.
The tournament in Johor Baru offers tickets to the World Cup, and Malaysia will be up against World No 1 Germany, Argentina, England, South Korea, Pakistan, South Africa and a yet to be named team.
The two-group, with four teams each, World League will be based on the new format where the group matches do not count, with all eight teams qualifying for the quarter-finals.
And one win in the last eight will see Malaysia finish top-four and qualify for the World Cup.
“Even though we are ranked seventh out of the eight teams, the plan is tho qualify for the World Cup from the World League so that we do not have to be under stress during the Asia Cup (Aug 24-Sept 1) which is another avenue to make the World Cup,” said Revington.
The five ‘new’ inclusions were goalkeeper Khairulnizam Ibrahim, Ahmad Kazamirul, Azreen Rizal, Meor Azuan and Firhan Ashaari.
And five players in the squad are still Under-21 and eligible for the Junior World Cup in New Delhi in November.
Among the top players in the injury list was Ismail Abu, whose chances of playing in the two major tournaments this year depends on the speed of his recovery.
TRAINING SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Khairulnizam Ibrahim, S.Kumar, Roslan Jamaluddin.
Defenders: Azlan Misron, Azreen Rizal, Baljit Singh, Faiz Helmi, Shukri Mutalib, Izad Hakimi, Amin Rahim, Razie Rahim, Ahmad Kazamirul.
Midfielders: Jivan Mohan, Meor Azuan, Fitri Saari, Shahrun Nabil, Marhan Jalil, Norhizzat Sumantri,
Forwards: Chua Boon Huat, Faisal Saari, Izwan Firdaus, Azzami Abadi, Firhan Ashaari, Ramadhan Rosli, Nabil Fiqri, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin.
