KUALA LUMPUR: The 2023 Women’s Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Ranchi, India from Oct 27-Nov 5 will be used to assess and select the Malaysian Tigress players for the 2024 Paris Olympic Qualifiers.
National women’s hockey team head coach Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim has thrown down the gauntlet to the 20 players who will be featuring in India to show their true capabilities so that they can be evaluated and listed for next January’s Olympic Qualifiers.
He said those chosen for the ACT possessed high quality, technical skills, resilience and physical strength that will make it easier for them to adapt to the team’s tactical approach as well as the fast tempo, especially when playing at the highest level.
He said that 15 of the players named for the ACT played in the recent 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games while five others are newcomers.
“The players’ tactical acumen as well as their capability in making on-field decisions were among the criteria taken into consideration, in addition to the efforts put in and their desire to fight for the cause.
“We, the coaching panel, hope that all the players can give their best in the championship (ACT) so that we can prepare a more solid team with a more detailed training programme,” he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) today.
The 2023 Women’s ACT, to be played in a round-robin format, will see India, Malaysia, China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand vying for glory.
Following is the list of 20 national women players set to feature in the 2023 Women’s ACT:
1. Nur Hazlinda Zainal Abidin: Goalkeeper
2. Siti Zalia Nasir: Goalkeeper
3. Dayang Nuramirah Abang Mahadini: Defender
4. Khairunnisa Ayuni Mohd Sharuddin: Defender
5. Nurul Fatin Fatiah Azman: Defender
6. Nur Nabila Alia Yussaini: Defender
7. Nuraini Abdul Rashid: Defender
8. Juliani Mohamad Din: Midfielder
9. Nurmaizatul Hanim Syafi Shiek Fuad: Midfielder
10. Nur Insyirah Effarizal: Midfielder
11. Raja Norsharina Raja Shabuddin: Midfielder
12. Fatin Shafikah Mahd Sukri: Midfielder
13. Siti Nur Irdina Mohd Nor: Midfielder
14. Siti Nur Arfah Mohd Nor: Midfielder
15. Hanis Nadiah Onn: Forward
16. Nur Afiqah Syahzani Azhar: Forward
17. Azmyra Mia Sofea Azhairy: Forward
18. Siti Zulaikha Husain: Forward
19. Anith Humairah Baharudin: Forward
20. Nur Shamine Azureen Mohammad Badusha: Forward - Bernama