PHNOM PENH: The national men’s indoor hockey team are one step away from retaining the gold medal in the 2023 SEA Games after qualifying for the final today.
Coach Mohd Hanip Che Halim’s men checked into the final after edging Thailand 5-3 in their fourth match of the round-robin format at the Dinasour Park Hall in Chroy Changvar this evening.
The win over Thailand enabled Malaysia to remain unbeaten at the biennial Games, having earlier hammered Cambodia 10-1, the Philippines 19-0 and Singapore 5-0.
The national team will complete their round-robin fixtures against Indonesia on Saturday (May 6) before heading into the gold-medal showdown against the same opponents (Indonesia) the next day (May 7).
In today’s match, Thailand drew first blood through Suyaram Anuson in the eighth minute before Faridzul Afiq Mohd levelled the scores three minutes later.
The goal was just the wake-up call Malaysia needed as they went on to add three more goals through Muhamad Izham Azhar (12th minute), Razali Mohd Hazemi (19th) and Muhammad Firdaus Omar (26th) to go 4-1 up.
Undaunted, Thailand narrowed the deficit to 3-4 with a quickfire brace from A-Nukoon Warawut (33rd and 34th minutes) before Faridzul Afiq wrapped up the proceedings by slotting goal number five in the 38th minute.
Coach Mohd Hanip praised his players for showing a more disciplined and solid performance compared to against Singapore yesterday.
“They finished off every chance they got and gave a polished performance today.
“In the last quarter, we were complacent in defence and Thailand capitalised on that. We should quickly get into position after every foul but our players were a little relaxed and this caused us to ship in two goals during that quarter,” he said.
Regarding their last round-robin fixture against Indonesia on Saturday, he said they will be fully prepared although both teams will meet again in the final on Sunday.
Indonesia are second in the standings with 12 points, the same as Malaysia, who stay on top on goal difference.
The indoor hockey tournament is being played in a round-robin format, with the top two advancing to the gold medal playoff while the third- and fourth-placed teams will share the bronze medal.
For the record, the national men’s indoor hockey team bagged the gold medal in the 2019 edition in the Philippines after beating Thailand 3-1 in the final. Indoor hockey was not contested at the 31st edition in Hanoi, Vietnam last year.
Meanwhile, the national women’s indoor hockey team also sizzled today as they thumped hosts Cambodia 4-0.
Malaysia got their goals through Fazilla Sylvester Silin (sixth minute), Iren Hussin (25th), Nur Atira Mohamad Ismail (28th) and Qasidah Najwa Muhammad Halimi (30th).
The Malaysian women, who are second in the standings behind Thailand on goal difference although both teams have 10 points each, need at least a draw against Indonesia (nine points) in their final round-robin fixture on Saturday to advance to the final. – BERNAMA
