Selangor Journal
The national hockey team in action during their match against Iran, at the final for the 2022 Indoor Hockey Asia Cup, held at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 15, 2022. — Picture by TWITTER/hockeymalaysia

Arul demands Faizal Saari step up for 2023 Hockey World Cup

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — Sensational hockey striker Faizal Saari has been told to step up his game as the Speedy Tigers squad prepares for the upcoming 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in India, from January 13 to January 29.

National men’s hockey team head coach A. Arul Selvaraj said the 31-year-old controversial player has not been at the top of his game for some time.

He said Faizal, who missed the Speedy Tigers’ maiden Sultan Azlan Shah Cup success early last month as he was playing for ZSV Schaerweijde in Hoofdklasse (Dutch League top division), did not perform as expected upon his return in the recent Nations Cup in South Africa.

“Faizal is a good player, and is another hidden gem but he needs to perform for the team now, as he had done during his younger days. I think the time has come for him to shoulder the burden and take Malaysia to another level.

“I will have a chat with him, and he is selected not for himself but to carry the rest of the players.

“He needs to show the younger players that he can lead, perform under high pressure and at a higher tempo, then he will continue (to be) with us,” Arul Selvaraj told reporters yesterday.

Faizal, who has 266 national caps, was dropped from the national team by previous head coach Roelant Oltmans in 2020, before getting called up by Arul after an impressive performance with 14 goals for Terengganu in the Tun Abdul Razak Cup in September 2020.

The head coach did admit that Faizal’s attitude and character had improved a lot upon his return from the Dutch League.

“We are still finding out with him what is holding him back….He has the potential to perform, I have shown him some videos. He is fast, super quick, just sometimes performances on the pitch not coming up,” Arul Selvaraj added.

The team will depart for Rourkela via Bhubaneswar on January 6 ahead of the warm-up action against Spain on January 11.

Malaysia, ranked 11th in the world, will begin their Group C campaign against three-time champion and world number three Netherlands on Jan 14, before facing Chile on January 16, and then travel back to Bhubaneswar to face world number nine New Zealand on January 19.

According to the tournament format, group champions will advance straight to the quarter-finals, while Group C and D second-placed teams will play against the third-placed teams of the other group in a knockout round for a slot in the quarter-finals.

— Bernama

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