Hang Edzharsyah to miss National Juniors’ Australian trip

Maybank forward Hang Edzharsyah Hang Tuah will miss the National Junior hockey team’s trip to Australia.

The former Johor player, who is one of the more experienced forwards in the side, has yet to recover from the thigh injury suffered during the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).

Juniors coach K. Rajan confirmed that Edzharsyah will be out of the team when they name the final 26 players for the Sydney trip today.

The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) will name 16 players, who are below 20, for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) from Jan 14-18.

Ten other players, who are below 21, will also make the trip but they will only be involved in the seven friendly matches during the tour.

“The AYOF is for the Under-20s. These 16 players will vie with the other 10 for places in the Junior World Cup squad.

The Junior World Cup will be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore on June 7-21.

“We will expose all the players during the tour. However, four of the Under-20 players will return home immediately after the AYOF,” he said.

The team will play three matches against the New South Wales and the Australian Under-20 team prior to the tournament. They will play another four matches after the tournament but the opponents are not confirmed yet.

Rajan is confident they will not be affected by Edzharsyah’s absence.

“Edzharsyah must be aware that there are other players who are slowly stamping their mark in the team. He is an experienced forward and has been with the team since it was formed. But I want to warn everyone that the Under-20 group of players in the team have been shaping up well and we will not hesitate to replace the more experienced ones if they slacken in training,” said Rajan.

He also said that the 26 players named today would be the final group of players who will vie for places in the Junior World Cup squad.

“We have 32 players. I will drop six players today.

“The team will leave for Sydney on Wednesday night. The tournament in Sydney and the friendly matches are important for the players to show they have improved since the MHL,” said Rajan.

On their return, the team will move to Lumut for a month-long fitness camp before moving to Johor Baru for their final phase of training.