Malaysia's AHL campaign goes bust...

THE MALAYSIAN campaign in the Australian Hockey League (AHL) came too a grinding halt Wednesday, when all three teams failed to qualify for the semi-finals in Perth.
  Making their debut, Malaysia were represented by their national (Tigers) and men's back-up squads (Blues) and the national women's team (Tigress).
  Yesterday, the Tigress took to the field against Victorian Vipers and needed a win to make the last four, but were instead hammered 6-2.
  The Tigers also had a bad outing, and crashed 5-2 to club side NSW Waratahs to seal their lower classification fate.
  Meanwhile, the national juniors will open their Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) campaign against England at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru.
  The tournament will be held on Oct 31-Nov 6 and the other four teams are Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Japan.
  With the exception of Malaysia, all the other teams will be using the SOJC to prepare for the Junior World Cup in Uttar Pradesh, India, on Dec 8-18.
  A total of 14 players eligible to play in the SOJC are currently playing in the AHL with the senior and development teams.
  Three players, Najmi Farizal, Nik Aiman Rozemi and Najib Hassan are with the Tigers.
  Those with the Blues are Rizwan Azmi, Firdaus Omar, Lukman Nur Hakim, Nor Azmi Rahman, Syed Shafiq Syed Cholan, Amirul Aideed, Ashran Hamsani, Rafizul Ezry, Norsyafiq Sumantri, Sufi Ismat and Akhimullah Anuar.
  However the three in the senior squad coached by Stephen van Huizen may be required to play in the Asian Champions Trophy that will be held in Kuantan on October 20-30.
  A few other players are currently in training and the team is expected to have a couple of days training in Johor Baru before the tournament.
  "We will take it one match at a time and I have an indication of the players that will carry our challenge in the SOJC," said Malaysian coach Wallace Tan who is with the Blues in Perth now.
  The SOJC, organised by the Johor Hockey Association, is the only junior invitational tournament in the world and made its debut in 2011 with Malaysia emerging as champions.