Malaysian Hockey’s Great Servant Faizal Saari Embraces 300th International Milestone
Faizal Saari has been a great servant of Malaysian hockey. Ever since making his senior international debut at a 18-year-old lad at the 2009 Champions Challenge Tourney at Dublin, the highly skilled forward has been an integral part of many success stories of the Speedy Tigers, including silver-winning performances at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. He even scored in the final of the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games against Japan that was a real humdinger ending with a 6-6 scoreline in normal time, before Japan had the last laugh in the shootout.
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Faizal made his senior international debut against Australia at the 2009 Champions Challenge Tourney – a match Malaysia went down fighting 2-3 and it did not take long for him to announce his goal-scoring ability to the hockey world as he scored his maiden international goal against Russia playing his part in their 4-3 victory in the same tourney. Fifteen years of international hockey behind him clearly shows that he has indeed lived up to his hockey-playing promise. At the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy at Hulunbuir, he earned another feather in his cap, becoming the 8th Malaysian to make 300 international appearances during his team’s match against Japan – a cracker of a match where the Speedy Tigers won 5-4.
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It may be worth recalling that former fullback Kuhan Shanmughnathan is Malaysia’s most capped player with 341 international appearances, followed by late Chua Boon Hua (337 international caps), Noor Saiful Zaini (329 international caps), Mirnawan Nawawi (327 international caps), Kumar Subramanian, (321 international caps) Razie Rahim (321 international caps), and Marhan Jalil (317 international caps). The 33-year-old forward has also represented Malaysia in three World Cups, where the national haven’t been able to make a big impact finishing 13th, 15th and 12th positions in the 2014, 2018, and 2023 editions.
The Speedy Tigers striker, who also doubled up as a drag-flickers during the short corner set-pieces, has been able to carve out a international reputation despite the national team not being part of the World Cup and Olympics on a consistent basis. He turned out in the Dutch Hockey League for Schaerweijde Club in 2022 – previously, he has also played in the German Hockey League for Berlin HC, Hockey India League for Mumbai Magicians, and Australian Hockey League for Southern Hotshots. He currently turns out for Terengganu Hockey club.
Most Capped Malaysia Men Hockey Players
| Player | International Appearances |
| Kuhan Shanmughnathan | 341 |
| Late Chua Boon Hua | 337 |
| Noor Saiful Zaini | 329 |
| Mirnawan Nawawi | 327 |
| Kumar Subramanian | 321 |
| Razie Rahim | 321 |
| Marhan Jalil | 317 |
| Faizal Saari | 300 |
