Fitri Saari eyes HIL spot, says more Malaysian players need to play in foreign leagues

Rajgir (Bihar), Sep 4 (PTI) Star midfielder Fitri Saari believes Malaysian players need to ply their trade in foreign leagues to raise the profile of the sport in the country while he aspires to feature in the next edition of the Hockey India League.

With his eyes firmly set on next year's HIL, Fitri, brother of striker Faizal Saari, has already registered for the mini auction to be held in the first week of October.

"Yes, I want to play in the Hockey India League. We need more players from Asia to play in the Hockey India League if we (Asia) need to beat Europe, Pan America, Australia..." Fitri told PTI in an interaction as Malaysia continued their fine run in the ongoing men's Asia Cup here with a 2-0 win over China.

"I have put my name in Hockey India League's mini auction draft already. I did that with a hope to play in the league. I hope my performances here will be noticed and I am ready to play for any team.

"I just want an opportunity and I can prove that I am competitive and a better player," he added.

Fitri, a member of the 2018 Asian Games silver-medal winning side, said Malaysian players need exposure and that can be achieved only by plying trade in different foreign leagues.

"We need to play leagues outside of Malaysia. If we have opportunity to play in the Hockey India League, (or the) Holland league we need to go there to learn more,” he said.

"If 7 or 8 players from Malaysia play in different leagues of the world, including HIL, they will get more exposure, matches and learn from different players," he said.

Hockey has a storied history in Malaysia that peaked in 1980s and 1990s. The spark ignited at the 1975 World Cup at home soil, where they finished fourth.

Malaysia have qualified for the Olympics nine times, with their best result being an eighth-place finish in 1972 Munich edition.

But since 2000 Sydney Games, the Speedy Tigers have never made it to the Olympics.

Fitri said it's time to break that jinx.

"We take pride and inspiration from our old generation. They qualified for 1975 World Cup where they played the semifinals. After that, hockey has become very famous in Malaysia. Badminton, football and hockey are the three most famous sport," he said.

"It is now upto the new generation to bring up Malaysian hockey. Our target is to play the Olympics. Since 2000 Sydney Olympics, we haven't qualified for the Olympics," Fitri added.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Sultan of Johor Cup are two famous tournaments which Malaysia hosts annually but both are invitational events.

Fitri wants to see other major international tournaments in Malaysia. "I hope we can host big tournaments. It is upto the federation and the government,” he said. PTI SSC DDV