Kuala Lumpur rely on balanced side for women’s Razak Cup
PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur may not have had the best of preparations for the women’s Razak Cup hockey tournament but the combination of youth and experience could serve them well.
The tournament will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium from Nov 18-26.
Team manager Noor Saliza Soobni said that the squad would be led by some members of the national team, including forward Norazlin Sumantri, and the cream of the crop from the 2018 Malaysia Games (Sukma) squad.
“I believe we have a balanced side. The seniors will guide the juniors, who are mostly from the Kuala Lumpur Sports School.
“There’s no point worrying about our opponents. I want the players to go out and enjoy themselves.
“We are aware of the strength of teams like Pahang, who have secured the services of seven national players and one former international.
“The important thing for us is to play to our own ability and not be overawed by others,” said Noor Saliza.
KL, who will play in Group A, will open their campaign against Perak, followed by matches against Indonesia (Nov 19), Pahang (Nov 21) and Terengganu (Nov 23).
The semi-finals will be on Nov 24 and final on Nov 26.
The teams in group B are Armed Forces, Selangor, Melaka and Johor.
Noor Saliza explained that several KL players were unable to join the team’s training sessions due to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.
“They do join us whenever they have no papers to sit for. We had a good turnout today (yesterday). It should get better in the next few days. I hope we make a winning start against Perak,” she said.
The City girls finished fourth last year after going down 4-2 to Selangor in the playoff match.
Noor Saliza also warned her team not to take debutants Indonesia for granted although they lost 11-0 to the national team in the KL SEA Games in August.
“They have players capable of turning things around against some of the fancied teams in the Razak Cup. There will be surprises aplenty,” she said. THE STAR
The tournament will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium from Nov 18-26.
Team manager Noor Saliza Soobni said that the squad would be led by some members of the national team, including forward Norazlin Sumantri, and the cream of the crop from the 2018 Malaysia Games (Sukma) squad.
“I believe we have a balanced side. The seniors will guide the juniors, who are mostly from the Kuala Lumpur Sports School.
“There’s no point worrying about our opponents. I want the players to go out and enjoy themselves.
“We are aware of the strength of teams like Pahang, who have secured the services of seven national players and one former international.
“The important thing for us is to play to our own ability and not be overawed by others,” said Noor Saliza.
KL, who will play in Group A, will open their campaign against Perak, followed by matches against Indonesia (Nov 19), Pahang (Nov 21) and Terengganu (Nov 23).
The semi-finals will be on Nov 24 and final on Nov 26.
The teams in group B are Armed Forces, Selangor, Melaka and Johor.
Noor Saliza explained that several KL players were unable to join the team’s training sessions due to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.
“They do join us whenever they have no papers to sit for. We had a good turnout today (yesterday). It should get better in the next few days. I hope we make a winning start against Perak,” she said.
The City girls finished fourth last year after going down 4-2 to Selangor in the playoff match.
Noor Saliza also warned her team not to take debutants Indonesia for granted although they lost 11-0 to the national team in the KL SEA Games in August.
“They have players capable of turning things around against some of the fancied teams in the Razak Cup. There will be surprises aplenty,” she said. THE STAR
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