Malaysia To Host U-16 Asian Level Hockey 5’s Next Year

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will be the host for the first Asian Level Hockey 5’s event, the first international event for Under 16 players for boys and girls, in February next year. Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Vice President Manjit Majid Abdullah said that the tournament which would be held in Kuala Lumpur would be played on grass. He noted that this was in line with the wishes of former AHF president, Malaysia's King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah who feels that Hockey 5’s ought to return to grass. In revealing this, Manjit said that this was discussed with International Hockey Federation (FIH) president, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra during his audience with His Majesty Al-Sultan Abdullah in May this year. “We have held a discussion with the hosting venue and they are very excited for this to take place. At present we are looking at the U-16 but we are also exploring the idea to hold an inter-club open category as well as a veteran category,” he said in a statement Thursday. Manjit added that the AHF Executive Board which is scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur in December would be briefed on this tournament. “We hope most countries will send teams to participate and in the Dec meeting, we can gauge the response,” he added. Malaysia clinched a gold medal in boys' five-a-side hockey at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games after beating India 4-2 in the final at the Parque Polideportivo Roca, Buenos Aires. -- BERNAMA