Posted at 02:50h in THE VOICE OF CITY BOYS
Glad tidings greeted Kenny Pallraj, Hadin Azman, Akram Mahinan and Zhafri Yahya when they found their names amongst 10 players in the standby list released by the Football Association of Malaysia, for the national team’s centralised training camp that began yesterday (Monday) March 14, 2022, in preparation for the Tri-Nation Series in Singapore, with matches against the Philippines (on March 23, 2022) and the home side (on March 26, 2022). Our Harimau Malaya ends their tour of the city-state two days later (March 28, 2022) with a friendly match against Japan’s Albirex Niigata, who play in Singapore”s S-League.
The standby list serves as a back-up to the main list of 30 players called-up by the new national team coach, Kim Pang Gon, for his first assignment.
On the back of the performance and consistency shown by our quartet throughout last season, which ended triumphantly for the City Boys, they certainly are more than deserving of a place in the standby list, nonetheless, they will be glad to be on the radar of the South Korean and his team of selectors.
The Voice of City Boys caught up with all four players for their reaction to the news of their inclusion on the standby list. Here’s what they said,
Kenny: “I am proud of myself and my other teammates, even though listed in the standby list. There are many more games to prove to the coach that not just me, but my other teammates deserve to be in the 30 man Malaysia squad. Time is on our side, and we will focus on the match at hand.”
Hadin: “Of course, I’m so excited to be on the waiting list. I’ll prepare myself and whenever they call, I’ll be ready.”
Akram: Even though I am only listed on the Standby List for the 30-Men Malaysia squad, I am very excited. I am ready if the coach ever calls me. This also motivates me as it means I have been playing well to get the attention of the coach. That is not my end game though, I will keep pushing myself so that the next time, I want to be called in the 30 man Malaysia squad.”
Zhafri: “For me, I take it that it is not time for me. I feel grateful even though I was listed in the 30 man Malaysia squad.
Kenny, Hadin and Akram have donned the Yellow & Black jersey at the international level previously.
Akram is the most experienced of the trio though. The 29-year-old Kulim born native has 25 caps at the senior level, and is also represented 4 times at the Under-19 stage. 27-year-old Hadin, a city slicker, made 9 appearances as a senior, and once as a junior at Under-19, while the 28-year-old Kenny, who hails from Ipoh, had 7 occasions in the past.