Hockey Olympic Qualifier: Hasliza aims to get her flicks right in qualifiers

Nineteen-year-old Noor Hasliza Mohd Ali will shoulder a heavy responsibility in the women’s Olympic hockey qualifying tournament in Victoria, Canada, from April 26-May 4.

The Kuantan lass will not only have to marshal the midfield but also deliver the penalty corner goals for Malaysia. However, her conversion rate has been poor in tournaments.

Hasliza, the country’s top penalty corner flicker, has only scored three goals in 11 matches. She only managed to score two goals in a seven-match playing tour of Australia in February.

In the four-nation tournament in Azerbaijan last month, she only scored one goal in four matches.

Hasliza, who has 60 international caps to her credit, is concerned with her conversion rate.

“I have been given a big task in the qualifiers to deliver the goals from penalty corners. But to date my flicks have been lacking in power and accuracy. My poor conversions could affect our performance in the qualifiers,” said Hasliza.


Hasliza, however, has been working extra hard in training to get her flicks right.

“Penalty corners are important in winning matches and I hope I can deliver the goals this time,” said Hasliza.

Besides Hasliza, the other penalty corner flicker is midfielder Juliani Mohd Din.

The Malaysian team have been targeted to finish among the top two in the qualifiers. The team are ranked 25th in the world and they will face strong challenges from world number eight South Korea, Ireland (18th), Italy (23rd), Canada (24th), and Uruguay (28th) in the tournament.

Only the winners will qualify for the Beijing Olympics in August.

“The tournament will be a good exposure for us in preparation for the Asian Games in Ghuangzhou in 2010,” said Hasliza.

The team left on Monday for Canada to get used to the chilly conditions. The team, coached by Yahya Atan, will play three friendly matches before they open their campaign against Ireland on April 26.

Their other matches are against South Korea (April 27), Canada (April 29), Italy (May 1) and Uruguay (May 3).