IPOH – National hockey team captain Marhan Jalil urges his young teammates to not be shy to interact with senior players who are always ready to help them elevate their gameplay.
Marhan is among four senior players above the age of 30 – along with Fitri Saari, Faizal Saari, and Hafizuddin Othman – who are in head coach Sarjit Singh’s new team, which has an average age of 25.
The experienced 34-year-old midfielder, who has made a total of 302 appearances for the national team since 2011, had captained the team under the tutelage of former head coach Arul Selvaraj from 2020 to early this year in the Paris Olympic qualifiers.
Speaking to Scoop, Marhan said that he’s happy with the atmosphere of the new team under Sarjit’s guidance and is ready to be a role model for the team and build a winning mentality among his young teammates ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament.
Malaysia will take on Pakistan in their Sultan Azlan Shah Cup opener tomorrow.
Malaysia bounced back twice to beat Paris Olympics-bound New Zealand 3-2 and fought hard in a 2-1 defeat to South Korea in their last two warm-up matches prior to the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
“The young team has a lot of potential and they have a lot of character in them. It’s nice to see all the players putting in the hours to improve their gameplay, which clearly reminds me of my old days.
“But it would be better if they communicated more often and were not shy around senior players like myself, as I’m always here to help them whenever they need me.
“At the same time, I totally understand them as well. Maybe they are shy because of the age gap between me and the young players.
“As long as I’m in the national team, I will make sure that I lead the team by example and ensure that we all have the same winning mentality for the country,” said Marhan when met at the Azlan Shah hockey stadium in Ipoh.
Marhan will spearhead the defence together with Syed Mohamed Syafiq Syed Cholan, Muhamad Amirul Hamizan Azhar, Muhamad Shafiq Hassan, Najib Abu Hassan and Syarman Mat Tee.
In addition to the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and the Nations Cup in Poland, Sarjit’s team will also participate in the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia, China, scheduled to take place from September 8 to 17.
The Speedy Tigers are currently ranked 13th in the world, with 1,828.27 points. – May 3, 2024