KUALA LUMPUR: Midfielder Mohammad Fitri Saari is excited to be training with the national men’s hockey team again after a three-year lapse and is ready to grasp this second chance with both hands.
The 30-year-old is determined to give a good performance to keep his place in the Speedy Tigers squad.
Mohammad Fitri said his dream is to win a place in coach A. Arul Selvaraj’s squad and play in the 2024 Paris Olympics by emerging as champions at the Hangzhou Asian Games in China from Sept 23-Oct 8.
“I do not want to waste this second chance given to me. I am excited to be back in training as I do not want to miss the Asiad as it is my dream to play in the Olympics.
“My target is to win a gold medal at the Asian Games because it’s quite difficult to make the Olympics if you have to go through the qualifying rounds,” he said when met by reporters at the first training session of the Speedy Tigers at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil last night.
Mohammad Fitri, who had been sidelined from the national squad since early 2020, was recalled to train with the Speedy Tigers yesterday (training is held at night during Ramadan).
This was the first training session for the national team since the 2023 Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), which started on Feb 9, ended on March 18.
Mohammad Fitri, who is also the Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) skipper, was called up again after his outstanding performance in helping the East Coast team win the Treble in the MHL.
He made his national team debut in the Asian Champions Trophy in China in September 2011 and has gone on to earn 160 caps at the senior level. He last played for the national team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in November 2019. The Speedy Tigers, however, failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. – BERNAMA
