KUALA LUMPUR: The 62nd Razak Cup which begins tomorrow at Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru will be more competitive with the presence of national players.
The national players are released to compete in the Razak Cup, the oldest hockey tournament in Malaysia, as they have no more international assignments for this year after the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia, China last month.
National players were barred from playing in last year's Razak Cup in Bukit Jalil as they had to prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games.
However, the 25 national junior men's players will not feature in the Razak Cup as they are preparing for the Sultan of Johor Cup from Oct 19-26.
Perak, gunning for a record 14 Razak Cup titles, will be led by three national players in forward Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal, defender Najib Hassan and penalty corner drag flicker Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan.
Perak have also included a 16-year-old Orang Asli player, Edhazril Shamshul, of Gunung Rapat School.
Terengganu, powered by the Saari brothers, Faizal and Fitri, who are seasoned internationals, will also start as among the favourites for the men's title.
Perak Hockey Association president Datuk Sayuti Samat said this year's Razak Cup would be more interesting and competitive with the presence of national players.
"We have a good team and we want to win the tournament after finishing third last year.
"We will give incentives to the players to win the title. We won the 2022 title and each player received RM5,000," said the former international.
Perak are in Group B with Melaka, Armed Forces, Police, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan and Sabah while defending champions KL are in Group A with Johor, Pahang, Selangor, Penang, Perlis and Singapore.
The Sabah women's team will not defend their title due to financial issues.
Selangor, who lost to Sabah 2-1 in the final last year, will start as the favourites this year.
The women's national Under-21 team will compete in the Razak Cup in preparation for the Junior Asia Cup in Muscat in December.