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Friday November 20, 2009

Faisal given the job of leading the attack

By AFTAR SINGH

KUALA LUMPUR: National forward Faisal Saari will shoulder a heavy responsibility in the Under-18 Asia Cup hockey tournament semi-finals match against South Korea in Myanmar today.

The Kelantan-born player, who has 15 international caps to his credit, has the task to deliver both field and penalty corners goals.

Faisal, who scored five goals (three field and two penalty corners) in the Junior World Cup Finals in Johor Baru in June, said in a telephone interview yesterday that he aimed to live up to expectations.

“I believe that we have a good chance to beat the Koreans because they are not that as strong compare to India and Pakistan. We play an offensive game from the start to get early goals,” he said.

Faisal only joined the team in Myanmar on Tuesday after being with the national senior team for the recent World Cup qualifying tournament in New Zealand.

He did not play in the first two group matches against Sri Lanka and India in which Malaysia trooped out as winners. He played against Pakistan on Wednesday and scored two goals but Malaysia were beaten 3-4.

Faisal added that the team were in high spirit to get the better of the Koreans after defeating defending champions India 3-2 in the group match.

Pakistan will take on Japan in the other semi-finals match. The final is schedule for Sunday and the winners will earn a place in the Youth Olympic in Singapore in August.

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