A first for Malaysia

Top form: Hanis Nadiah Onn scored 19 goals for the national hockey team last season and helped them qualify for the World Hockey League Semi-Finals in January.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hanis Nadiah Onn has scored a first for Malaysia in women’s world hockey.

The 21-year-old was named as Asia’s Most Promising Player for 2016 by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) in Muscat, Oman, on Friday. She netted 19 goals for Malaysia last season.

The Player of The Year awards went to S.V. Sunil of India (men) and Japan’s Hazuki Nagai (women).

The men’s Promising Player of The Year was awarded to India’s Harmanpreet Singh.

Hanis, a forward, was astonished to win the award.

“It’s an honour for me and my country. The award will spur me to improve my game and to strive for excellence.

“I played in last year’s Asian Champions Trophy and Australian National League.

“Hopefully I will get to play in more tournaments at international level and other leagues to improve my game,” said Hanis, a member of the national team since 2014.

In January, Hanis helped Malaysia to reach the World Hockey League Semi-Finals.

Hanis said it was a proud moment for Malaysia to have finally qualified for the Semi-Finals stage.

“In 2015, we failed to clear Round Two. This is a breakthrough and we are now in the fight for a World Cup place.

“My main target is to play at the highest level in world hockey.

“Yes, it will be very tough as we go up against the top ranked teams.

“But this is a good chance to test ourselves against the best and learn from the experience,” said Hanis, a Mass Communication student at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).