SULTAN AZLAN SHAH CUP: TWO NEW FACES JOIN SPEEDY TIGERS SQUAD

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- The Speedy Tigers squad will field two new faces for the 2025 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which will be held from Nov 23 to 30 in Ipoh.

In a statement today, the Malaysian Hockey Confederation said the two players are defender Muhammad Nur Asyraf Ishak and central midfielder Zufar Saiful Marsita, who were selected after excelling while representing Melaka in the 2025 Tun Abdul Razak Cup.

Speedy Tigers head coach Sarjit Singh expressed hope that the newcomers would make an impact on the national team.

“We have two new faces for this year’s edition, both from Melaka, who performed well in the TNB Tun Abdul Razak Cup 2025. This is their first major tournament, and 20-year-old Zufar scored two goals in friendly matches.

“As part of our preparations, we played several friendlies against Korea, India and the National Men’s Junior Squad to test combinations and assess player readiness,” he said.

National Senior Men’s Team manager Datuk Ahmad Najmi Abdul Razak said this is a golden opportunity for both players to prove themselves on the international stage.

He said the 31st edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is considered prestigious, with two world hockey giants — Belgium (ranked third globally) and India (seventh) — joining the competition in Ipoh. All participating teams have their own agendas for the tournament.

“Belgium and India are in preparation for the FIH Pro League starting this December, while teams such as Malaysia (13th), Korea (15th) and Canada (20th) are fine-tuning tactics ahead of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers,” he said.

Malaysia will open the tournament against New Zealand on Sunday, followed by matches against Canada (Nov 24), India (Nov 26), Belgium (Nov 27) and South Korea (Nov 29).

Only the top two teams in the round-robin format will advance to the final on Nov 30.

The 20-player Malaysian squad:

Goalkeepers: Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman, Mohammad Rafaizul Mohamad Saini

Defenders: Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil, Faiz Helmi Jali, Syed Mohammad Syafiq Syed Cholan, Muhammad Amirul Hamizan Azahar, Muhamad Faris Harizan, Muhammad Nur Asyraf Ishak and Muhamamad Najib Abu Hassan

Midfielders: Mohd Fitri Saari, Nik Muhammad Aiman Nik Rozemi, Shello Silverius, Muhammad Shafiq Hassan, Zufar Saiful Marsita and Mughni Mohamad Kamal

Forwards: Faizal Saari, Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, Norsyafiq Sumantri, Mohamad Akhimullah Anuar Esook and Muhajir Abdu Rauf

-- BERNAMA