KUALA LUMPUR: Eleven teams from five countries will compete in the second edition of the boys' and girls' under-17 Mirnawan Cup starting at the Ministry of Education pitch at Jalan Pantai on Sunday.
The Mirnawan Cup is the culmination of the National Hockey Development Programme (NHDP) nationwide training. The best NHDP players were selected to represent Malaysia.
Two Malaysian teams each will play in the boy' and girls' categories.
The foreign challengers are from South Africa, India, Australia and Japan.
Last year, Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) hammered Japan 4-1 in the final to become the Mirnawan Cup boys' under-17 champions while in the girls' under-14 final, Sports Odisha from India hammered SSTMI 5-0.
"This year, both the boys' and girls' tournaments will be under-17 events as we give the best of our NHDP players the chance to compete against their peers from some of the best playing nations in the world.
"We started on a small scale, but for the third edition I hope to see more foreign teams invited and make it into a regular on the MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) calendar," said triple Olympian Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi.
"Since the Junior World Cup will be held every two years instead of four, the Mirnawan Cup exposure will benefit the core juniors in Malaysia and in the long run, we will have a bigger pool which is well prepared to play for the nation," said Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal who was returned unopposed as MHC president for the third time for the next four years.
Subahan said he will reveal his mission and vision for his final three-year team in MHC after the Annual General Meeting on Nov 25.
MHC had amended its constitution, and now a president can only hold his post for three terms.
Boys' under-17: Malaysia A, Malaysia B, South Africa, Odisha HA, Australia All Stars.
Girls' under-17: Malaysia Tigress A, Malaysia Tigress B, South Africa, Odisha HA, Australia All Stars, Japan.