Selvaraju wants to continue playing in Germany

National forward S. Sel­va­raju wants to return to Germany in April to continue playing in their hockey league.

The 23-year-old Perak player said that Berliner manager Jurgen Haner was happy with his performance and would be glad if he could return to the team.

Selvaraju was with the Division One club last September and scored seven goals in 10 matches.

“Haner e-mailed me a few days ago asking me to come back in April. I am interested in continuing to play in the German League as it has helped me build up my confidence in scoring goals,’’ he said.

Selvaraju added that the German League season had not ended because it started only after the Beijing Olympics last August and matches could not be completed before the winter break in late October.

“The competition will resume in April,’’ said Selvaraju, who has 36 international caps to his credit.

Selvaraju is in his second season in the German League.

He was with Moenchengladbach in 2006 and scored five goals in 12 matches.

However, it is doubtful that Selvaraju will get to complete the season with Berliner.

“The national team will play in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in April and the national team management may not want to release me to play in the German League,’’ said Selvaraju, who played for Tenaga Nasional in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), which ended last week.

The national team will resume training next week and they will also be preparing for the Asia Cup in Dubai in May.

The Asia Cup winners gain direct entry to the 2010 World Cup Finals in India and if Malaysia fail to win the championship, they will have to feature in a qualifying tournament in November.