HOCKEY: JUNIORS HEAD DOWN UNDER TO ADD BITE FOR TWO TOURNEYS

KUALA LUMPUR, The national junior men's hockey squad will go on a tour of Brisbane in Australia from July 24 to Aug 6 in preparation for two tournaments taking place this year, the annual Sultan of Johor Cup and the 2024 Junior Asia Cup in China. Team manager S. Ganesan said he hoped that the players selected to participate in the Australian Brisbane Tour Series can make the most of the opportunity, besides gaining as much valuable experience as possible to strengthen their game for the future. 'After the player selection session that was held recently, the Brisbane Tour Series is the first step to prepare this team that will face two tournaments, namely the Sultan of Johor Cup in October and the Junior Asia Cup in December (to qualify for the 2025 Junior World Cup). I hope that every player who is trusted by the team will take this opportunity as best as possible. 'The players need to prove why they should remain in the team. The coaching line up will continue to evaluate each player to ensure that they can develop as quickly as possible as individuals and form the best team understanding with each other,' he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) today. In the meantime, MHC said a total of six matches have been arranged, involving four matches against the Australian Under-21 national team and two matches against the Queensland Hockey Club at the Queensland state hockey centre. According to the hockey governing body, the line-up of players guided by coach I. Vikneswaran will leave for Brisbane on Wednesday (July 24). The following is the list of the 26 players of the National Men's Junior Squad participating in the Brisbane Australia Tour Series from July 24 to Aug 6, 2024. No Name Position 1 Mohamad Rafaizul Mohamad Saini Goalkeeper 2 Muhammad Danish Afnan Mohd Faizal Goalkeeper 3 Khairul Amirin Mohd Kamarul Azlan Goalkeeper 4 Andywalfian Jefffryrius Defence 5 Muhammad Nabil Irfan Mohd Yusof Defence 6 Samrin Asri Defence 7 Mohamad Nor Syakir Hafiz D efence 8 Muhd Alief Adha Akhbar Defence 9 Muhammad Zamarul Hazim Ahmad Zamri Defence 10 Muhammad Hafiezuddin Mohd Ali Defence 11 Muhammad Danish Danial Abd Wahab Midfield 12 Muhammad Addy Jazmi Jamlus Midfield 13 Muhammad Khairul Norizam Midfield 14 Muhammad Handzalah Abdul Hadi Midfield 15 Disairul Fazrien Muhammad Nazrien Midfield 16 Mohd Adam Ashraf Mohd Johari Midfield 17 Wan Arif Faizuddin Wan Azmeer Midfield 18 Mohammad Harris Iskandar Osman Forward 19 Che Nur Aqirullah Che Mohd Khaurulzi Anwar Forward 20 Muhammad Danish Aiman Khairil Anwar Forward 21 Sriraam Vikneswaran Forward 22 Mohamad Khairil Hakimi Zainol Forward 23 Ekram Aidilfikri Sapri Forward 24 Yashvindraa Singaravadivel Forward 25 Addit Abdullah Forward 26 Naaveennash Panicker Thevendran Forward Source: BERNAMA News Agency