Misfiring Harvinder aims to end drought with junior squad

Forward Harvinder Singh received the call up to join the national juniors for his good performances in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL). But since joining the team, he has failed to deliver the goods.

The 18-year-old Kuala Lumpur player scored six goals for Tenaga Nasional in the MJHL and was named the man-of-the-match in the final against the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS).

But he has yet to score a goal in seven matches for the national juniors in two competitions – the playing tour of Australia in September and a six-nation tournament in Singapore in October.

Harvinder, who is the younger brother of national midfielder Kelvinder, said that he was disappointed with his game.

“My dream is to follow in the footsteps of my brother, who not only drives the midfield well for the senior team but has also scored goals in international matches. But I have performed poorly and it is not good for my hockey career,'' he said.

However, Harvinder has been given another chance to prove himself. He is among 32 players shortlisted for training to prepare for an eight-nation tournament scheduled for Jan 17-27 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

“My mission is to feature in the 2009 Junior World Cup and I will go all out to impress the new national coach (V. Muralidharan) and get a place in the final squad for the eight-nation tournament,” he said.

“The players will be assessed in the seven friendly matches against the juniors from New South Wales next week and I hope to end my goal drought.”

Besides Harvinder the other forwards in the training squad are Mohd Azami Adabi, Eldon Lemery, Khairul Azuan Abdul Hamid, Mohd Izzat Gazali, Hang Edzharsyah Hang Tuah and Mohd Rifhan Azhar.

In the eight-nation tournament, Malaysia will be up against Australia, Germany, Holland, India, Pakistan and South Korea. The tournament is part of the team's preparations for the Junior World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore.