Target to reach final

Madzli Ikmar (pic)has been named captain.

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation selected its squad for the Azlan Shah Cup with a dual target of qualifying for the final and to avoid injuries.

The Azlan Shah Cup will be held in Ipoh on April 5-12, and after that it's do-or-die in the Asia Cup scheduled for May 9-15 in Kuantan.
"We will play for a berth in the final, of course, but the players have also been told not to take unnecessary risks in the Azlan Shah Cup as they have a bigger task in the Asia Cup," said team manager George Koshy after naming the 22 for Ipoh.
Malaysia will be up against New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Egypt in the Azlan Shah Cup.
The Asia Cup only offers one ticket to the 2010 New Delhi World Cup.
"We will trim the squad to 18 after a friendly with New Zealand on April 2 as we still need to see how some injured players respond to treatment before finalising the squad," Koshy added.
Not on the list is prolific striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, who picked up a shin splint but should be ready for the Asia Cup.
The Azlan Shah squad -- Goalkeepers: S. Kumar, Khairulnizam Ibrahim, Fairul Wanasir.
Defenders: Madzli Ikmar (capt), Engku Malek, Amin Rahim, Baljit Singh Charun Singh, Baljit Singh Sarjab Singh.
Midfielders: Kelvinder Singh, Sukri Mutalib, Shahrun Nabil, Nabil Fiqri, Jivan Mohan, Azlan Misron.
Forwards: Ismail Abu, Chua Boon Huat, Hafifi Hafiz, Amerullah Aziz, S. Selvaraju, Megat Azrafiq, Herwan Pami, Fekri Basaar.