Men’s And Women’s Field Hockey Team’s Turn to Action at the 32nd SEA Games

The Field Hockey Event, the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia will open the curtain on May 9 to 16, 2023 at Morodok Techo National Stadium. The last time this event was contested was at the 2017 SEA Games, Kuala Lumpur where Malaysia was the champion of the men’s and women’s categories.

For this edition, for the Men’s Team, they will feature 14 youth players and will be assisted by four senior players who have experienced playing on the international stage while for the Women’s Team, they will feature a young 19-year-old.

Mohd Zaimi Mat Deris (goalkeeper), Muhammad Amirul Hamizan Azahar (defensive), Muhammad Najib Abu Hassan (centre) and Muhamad Ramadan Rosli (attacker) are four experienced players who will help guide other teenage boys while Azmyra Mia Sofea Azhairy is the youngest female player to make an appearance with the national team at the 32nd SEA Games.

Prior to this, the National Men’s and Women’s Team had made a series of preparations ahead of the 2023 SEA Games to ensure that the target set which is to bring home the gold medal is successfully paid off. This includes the Youth Team participating in the Perth Austalia Tour Series while the Women’s Team has participated in the International Invitation Championship at Wujin Hockey Training Centre, China.

According to Muhamad Amin Rahim, the Head Coach of the National Youth Team, his team’s preparation is now at its best and the players are fully prepared to start the SEA 2023 Games Campaign against the hosts, Cambodia in the opening act.

“We the coaching team always remind players not to underestimate the strength that every team that competes and every time they go down in action, players need to come down with one right mindset besides having the mentality to win every match.

“The hope and target placed by the team is certainly to award the gold medal to the Malaysian contingent. But for the team, we came to the SEA Games with a “two-pronged” strategy where we will also use the Games as part of the preparation for the team ahead of the Asian Youth Cup (Men’s) Championship in Salalah, Oman which will start on May 23.

“I sincerely hope that the players will perform well throughout the Games and make the best use of the Games for the final preparation for the Asian Youth Cup,” he explained, who was the first to take on the responsibility of being the Head Coach for the field hockey event at the SEA Games.

Meanwhile, the head coach of the National Women’s Squad, Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim, said she and her coaching team did not want to think about Malaysia’s reputation at the last Games and the label as the team of choice at the Games, other than that her team would still respect every opponent they would oppose.

“The criteria for the selection of players to the SEA Games is more about the ability of players to adapt to fast games, make good decisions, have good technique and have positive thinking.

“The coaching line, officials and players have a desire as well as a high motivation in the hunt for gold medals in Cambodia. To ensure that the team doesn’t get the pressure it doesn’t deserve, we don’t want to think about the old reputation of the Malaysian team or the status that is positioned as the team of choice.

“Our focus will be entirely on the match and down with the hunt for victory, however, we still respect the opposing team and never underestimate the credibility they have.

“For the 2023 SEA Games, only four players have experience playing in the last edition of the field hockey event. For the other players, they have experience playing on the international stage such as the 2022 Asian Cup, the 2022 Youth World Cup and the China Invitational Championship, recently.

“The experience that every player has gained will certainly help to increase their confidence and prepare for the SEA Games. The SEA Games this time will also feature a young 19-year-old player, Azmyra Mia Sofea,” he said.

The following is a list of 18 National Men’s SEA Sports Squad players.

The following is a list of 18 National Women’s SEA Sports Squad players.

Here is the full schedule of the National Men’s and Women’s Hockey Team matches at the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.