KUALA LUMPUR: Hockey player Shello Silverius has made Sabah proud.
The 20-year-old, who marshalls the midfield, is the first player from East Malaysia to be named as captain of the national junior team.
The Keningau-born player will lead Malaysia for the six-nation Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru from Oct 12-19.
Shello, who started playing hockey at the age of 10, is honoured to wear the armband.
“This is special ... I come from a rural area where very few play hockey,” said Shello, who is featuring for the third consecutive time in the tournament,” he said.
“It also feels nice that all my hard work in training is paying off.
“My selection as the skipper is a boost for hockey in Sabah. I hope it will encourage more players from my district and state to take up this sport,” said Shello, who captained Sabah en route to winning their first-ever Malaysia Games (Sukma) title in Ipoh last year.
Shello said being the skipper comes with bigger responsibilities.
“Last year, we finished fifth but this time, as a captain, my job is to help Malaysia finish on the podium,” he said.
“We have reliable national players like forward Mohd Akhimullah (Anuar Esook) and defender Muhd Arif (Syafie Ishak) to give our opponents a run for the money,” said Shello.
Malaysia will play a friendly match against Britain on Oct 10 before they open their campaign against world junior champions India on Oct 12.
Malaysia’s other matches are against Australia on Oct 13, New Zealand (Oct 15), Britain (Oct 16) and Japan (Oct 18). The final and playoff matches will be on Oct 19.
Shello said the Johor meet would be a good preparation for the Junior Asia Cup from June 4-14 next year in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which is the qualifying tournament for the 2021 Junior World Cup.
“I want to help Malaysia finish on the podium in Dhaka to qualify for the Junior World Cup,” said Shello, who played for Tenaga Nasional in the Malaysia Hockey League (MJHL).
The 20-year-old, who marshalls the midfield, is the first player from East Malaysia to be named as captain of the national junior team.
The Keningau-born player will lead Malaysia for the six-nation Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru from Oct 12-19.
Shello, who started playing hockey at the age of 10, is honoured to wear the armband.
“This is special ... I come from a rural area where very few play hockey,” said Shello, who is featuring for the third consecutive time in the tournament,” he said.
“It also feels nice that all my hard work in training is paying off.
“My selection as the skipper is a boost for hockey in Sabah. I hope it will encourage more players from my district and state to take up this sport,” said Shello, who captained Sabah en route to winning their first-ever Malaysia Games (Sukma) title in Ipoh last year.
Shello said being the skipper comes with bigger responsibilities.
“Last year, we finished fifth but this time, as a captain, my job is to help Malaysia finish on the podium,” he said.
“We have reliable national players like forward Mohd Akhimullah (Anuar Esook) and defender Muhd Arif (Syafie Ishak) to give our opponents a run for the money,” said Shello.
Malaysia will play a friendly match against Britain on Oct 10 before they open their campaign against world junior champions India on Oct 12.
Malaysia’s other matches are against Australia on Oct 13, New Zealand (Oct 15), Britain (Oct 16) and Japan (Oct 18). The final and playoff matches will be on Oct 19.
Shello said the Johor meet would be a good preparation for the Junior Asia Cup from June 4-14 next year in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which is the qualifying tournament for the 2021 Junior World Cup.
“I want to help Malaysia finish on the podium in Dhaka to qualify for the Junior World Cup,” said Shello, who played for Tenaga Nasional in the Malaysia Hockey League (MJHL).
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