Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club relies on local talent to defend Premier Division title
While many clubs in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) have been in the news for signing foreign players to their squads, the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) has put together a formidable all-local team to defend its League title
in the upcoming MHL Premier Division.
“On paper, we have a strong local line-up with players who won silver in the Asian Games and also former internationals who are intent on making a comeback,” said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
The national-level players on the KLHC squad include Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Shahrun Nabil, Razie Rahim, Azlan Misron and goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin, among others. Former national players on the team include Ismail Abu, Megat
Azrafiq, Kelvinder Singh and Chua Boon Huat.
“Among all the former national players,” said Dharmaraj, “I see Megat as the most improved and his dedication in training is excellent. I hope he will perform in the League, as he is still young and can make a come-back if he works
hard enough.”
Dharmaraj was also full of praise for Tenaga Nasional, who will be KLHC’s opponents in the opening match of the Premier Division next week.
“In today’s game, good flickers and goalkeepers are an asset to win titles and I believe Tenaga Nasional have the best in the country,” he said. “With (S.) Kumar in goal and Amin Rahim as a flicker, I believe Tenaga will be one
of the early title contenders.”
Tenaga Nasional were runners-up to KLHC in last year’s Premier Division, but won the Charity Shield as well as the Overall title. Rahim was named the best goalkeeper, while Kumar was the top-scorer of the tournament with 15 goals.
Like KLHC, the defending overall champions will also be relying solely on local talent, including national players Kumar, Rahim, Mohammad Madzli Ikmar, Baljit Singh Charun and Faizal Saari. Tenaga Nasional also have two players,
Tajol Rosli and Mohd Fikri Bassar, who are currently in the national training squad.
“We have faith and trust in our local players to put up a strong challenge against teams with foreign players,” said Tenaga coach Nor Saiful Zaini recently.
The nine teams in the Premier Division are KLHC, Armed Forces-Airod, Maybank, Nur Insafi, Sapura, Tenaga, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Yayasan Negri Sembilan (YNS). Teams that have confirmed
foreign players include Sapura, UniKL and Nur Insafi.
“Looking at the player list of the other teams, especially those with foreign players, I feel it is going to be a very challenging tournament this year,” said Dharmaraj.
The Premier Division will kick off with a Charity Shield match between KLHC and overall champions Tenaga Nasional on December 17.
The full line-up for the KLHC squad is as follows:
Roslan Jamaluddin (Gk), Kairulnizam Ibrahim (Gk), Baljit Singh Sarjab, Chua Boon Huat, Noor Faeez, S. Shanker, Shahrun Nabil, Harvinder Singh, Fitri Saari, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Azli Misron, Ismail Abu, Amerullah Aziz, Ahmad Anuar
Sham, Azlan Misron (C), Nabil Fiqri, Razie Rahim, Sukri Mutalib, Kelvinder Singh, Megat Azrafiq, Sufian Mohamad, Hairulnizam Maizan.
Team Manager: George Koshy; Coach: K. Dharmaraj; Asst Coach: R. Vivekanandan.
Tags: