KUALA LUMPUR: The national women’s hockey squad’s desire to collect at least one point in the second match of the qualification campaign for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games fell short as they were defeated by Canada 3-0 yesterday.
In the Group B action held at Estadio Beterodi, Valencia, Spain, Canada took the lead as early as the third minute when Sara McManus converted a penalty corner before Rae Thora doubled the lead with a field goal in the second quarter (22nd minute).
Before the Malaysian Tigress could improve their defence, Kate Richardson-Walsh’s charges notched the third goal through a penalty corner converted by Sara in the 45th minute.
Meanwhile, the head coach of the national women’s hockey squad, Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim, expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance against the 17th-ranked Canada, who are considered more experienced.
“Today’s match was better than yesterday (Jan 14) because we acknowledge that Canada are more experienced. We played well in the last quarter, so there is still room for improvement in terms of strength and fitness for the next match,” he said through a video recording shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
On Jan 14, the Malaysian Tigress had a rough start in the qualification campaign for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, suffering a big defeat of 0-7 to hosts Spain. They are scheduled to face Great Britain in the third group stage match on Tuesday (Jan 16). – BERNAMA
