Six Teams To Compete In SOJC 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Six teams will compete in the Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) that will be held at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru (capital of Malaysia's southern state of Johor) from Oct 31 to Nov 6. The teams are England, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Japan and host, Malaysia. After starting off their campaign against England on Oct 31, Malaysia will meet Australia (Nov 1), Pakistan (Nov 2), Japan (Nov 4) and New Zealand (Nov 5). The organisers, Johor Hockey Association (JHA), in a statement Wednesday said 14 players eligible to play in the SOJC for Malaysia are currently playing in the Australian Hockey League with the national senior and development teams. Among those in the senior team are Najmi Farizal Azlan, Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi and Najib Hassan. Those in the development squad coached by Wallace Tan are Rizwan Azmi, Firdaus Omar, Lukman Nur Hakim, Nor Azmi Rahman, Syed Shafiq Syed Choulan, Amirul Aideed, Ashran Hamsani, Rafizul Ezry Mustafa, Norsyafiq Sumantri, Sufi Ismat Rohulmin and Akhimullah Anuar. A few other players are currently in training and the team is expected to have a couple of days training in Johor Bahru before the tournament. "We will take it one match at a time and I already have an indication of the players who will shoulder our challenge in the tournament. It will be a tough tournament as most teams are gearing up for the Junior World Cup," said Wallace. The SOJC is the only junior invitational tournament held annually and was initiated in 2011 with Malaysia emerging as the champions. With the exception of Malaysia, all the other teams will be using the tournament to fine tune their preparations for the Junior World Cup that will be held in Uttar Pradesh, India from Dec 8-18. -- BERNAMA