KUALA LUMPUR: A late equaliser by Rana Waheed Ashraf dashed Malaysia’s hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics when Pakistan came from behind to snatch a 3-3 draw against Malaysia in Group A of the Olympic Qualifier in Muscat, Oman, Thursday.
The result saw Malaysia failing to make the semifinals after finishing at the bottom of the group with a single point behind leaders Great Britain (9), Pakistan (4) and China (3).
The squad under A. Arul Selvaraj only had themselves to blame for allowing Pakistan to come back into the match three times while the failure by penalty corner specialist Muhammad Razie Abd Rahim to convert penalty corners, especially in the third quarter added to the misery of the Speedy Tigers at the Oman Hockey Stadium.
Striker Fitri Saari gave Malaysia a flying start through a field goal in the 20th minute but the lead stayed for only three minutes as Sufyan Khan equalised from a penalty corner strike.
Malaysia restored the lead through striker Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal’s field goal on the stroke of halftime after skipper Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil’s penalty corner strike caused a lot of confusion in the Pakistan goal area.
Sheikh Shahnaz’s charges once again equalised through Ammad Butt, just three minutes into the third quarter.
Striker Muhammad Firhan Ashari once again put Malaysia ahead in the 40th minute but Rana Waheed rescued Pakistan with a 52nd minute strike that gave them a ticket to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, in another Group A match, Great Britain maintained their unbeaten record by whipping China 6-0 to book their berth as group winners.
Malaysia will now be involved in the 5th to 8th classification match against Chile on Saturday.
The last time Malaysia qualified for the Olympics was during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. – BERNAMA
