WHILE Negri Sembilan won the League and KPT-UniTen Thunderbolts took the Vivian May Soars Cup, the biggest winners in the Women's Malaysia Hockey League (WMHL) were 20 Under-21 players.
National women's coach Nasihin Nubli selected his 20 who will debut for Malaysia in the Junior World Cup (JWC) in South Africa on April 1-12.
Negri coach K. Rajan, who could only watch his team lose the Vivian May Soars Cup on TV after he tested positive for Covid-19, said the WMHL has made many national juniors much stronger.
"It was lucky that the WMHL was held at the right moment to help junior players get ready for the JWC because it's almost impossible to arrange for international friendlies because of Covid-19.
"And also, the WMHL's hectic schedule prepared the players mentally and physically for the JWC," said Rajan who had six national players under his care.
Malaysia are in Group D with Germany, India and Wales in the JWC after Japan withdrew.
Immediately after the end of the WMHL on Sunday, Nasihin named his 20 players, and one of them was 18-year-old Kirandeep Kaur.
She was not selected for the Asia Cup in Oman recently, but fought her way back into the squad by giving her all in the WMHL. The prolific midfielder also scored 9As in her SPM exam.
Kirandeep was one of the outstanding players in the KPT-UniTen Thunderbolts team that won the Vivian May Soars Cup.
WMHL's top scorer NurAmirah Shakirah who represented Negri, with 23 goals to her name, will be the other asset to watch in South Africa.
"The WMHL was my platform to select players, and now we will have a few matches with the Under-17 Selangor and PJCC (Petaling Jaya City Council) players before heading to South Africa," said Nasihin.
Nasihin is planning for at least one friendly match in South Africa ahead of the JWC, but no team have replied to his request yet.
JWC SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Siti Zalia Nasir, Mashitah Khalid.
Defenders: Nurul Faezah Shafiqa, Iren Hussin, Nurul Fatin, Dayang NurAmirah, Puteri Nur Batisyia, Nur Nabila Alia, Khairunnisa Ayuni, Nur Maizatul Hanim, Nur Insyirah Effarizal, Nor Asfarina Isahyifiqa.
Midfielders: Kirandeep Kaur, NurAmirah Shakirah, Siti Nur Arfah.
Strikers: Nur Atira Ismail, Siti Zulaikha Husain, Nur Afiqah Syahzani, Elizabeth Epui, NurFatin Dizana.