Three Malaysian teams for Australian HL...

MALAYSIA will field three teams in the Australian Hockey League (AHL) to be held at the Perth Hockey Stadium on Sept 29-Oct 9.
   Along with Australian State and Territory teams, the other invitational teams for the two-week tournament will be from India and New Zealand.
  Malaysian Hockey Confederation CEO K. Logan Raj said two men's and one women's team has been registered for the AHL.
  "We are extremely pleased to receive the offer to play in what we perceive to be one of the world's most competitive leagues.
 "This is a new milestone for Malaysian hockey, and We believe this tournament will strengthen our already close relationship. The men's elite and development as well as the women's national team will spearhead Malaysia's challenge," said Logan Raj.
  India Junior men's coach, Harendra Singh said: “The tournament will present a good set of diverse talent from different teams. It will be very beneficial for our team to face this challenge building up towards the New Delhi Junior World Cup.”
  Players from the national teams, the Hockeyroos and the Kookaburras including Kathryn Slattery, Aran Zalewski, Fergus Kavanagh, Tyler Lovell and Edwina Bone are set to compete in the league for their home states.
   Ten women's and 12 men's teams will compete in the AHL this season.
  Hockey Australia Chief Executive Cam Vale said: “Hockey Australia is excited to be able to extend the opportunity to take part in our national league to India, Malaysia and New Zealand.
   “It will add great depth to the tournament, which will be the first time the men’s and women’s competition has been held at the same time, and will give our State and Territory teams a fantastic opportunity to experience international competition.
  “This will also be the first time both the boys and girls Under-13s competition will be hosted in conjunction with the men’s and women’s league, which is an exciting opportunity for young hockey players to play the sport they love alongside their hockey heroes. It is a credit to our State and Territory hockey associations for leading and supporting this sort of initiative.”