PHNOM PENH, May 6 — The national women’s indoor hockey squad has booked their place in the finals after downing Indonesia 4 – 2 in the last round robin match at the 2023 South East Asian (SEA) Games, earlier today.
The semi-final match at Dinosaur Park Hall, Chroy Changvar, was decided in the first 30 minutes, with Iren Hussin scoring a personal hattrick.
The women’s team took an early lead in the sixth minute through a penalty by Iren Hussin only to see the Indonesians equalise three minutes later through Desi Wardani. Iren then put Malaysia ahead in the 11th minute, and teammate Nur Atira Mohamad Ismail added another in the 15th, but Indonesia’s Nuraini Siguarti closed the gap by scoring in the 20th.
Iren then scored her third goal of the match in the 27th minute to put the match securely beyond Indonesia’s reach.
The win means that they join the men’s team — who already qualified for the men’s finals on Thursday — in the defence of their respective titles and the gold medals they won at the 2019 Games in the Philippines.
In tomorrow’s finals, the women’s team will be up against Thailand, which placed second in the round robin competition.
Their coach, Mohd Badrul Hisham Osman, was clearly satisfied with their performance and hoped that their momentum would continue in the final tomorrow.
“Syukur Alhamdulillah, everyone played so well according to plan. We will review today’s match to face tomorrow’s final. We will correct our errors and plan our tactics against Thailand.
“We of course are hoping to win the gold. We hope everyone will play at their best and we ask all hockey fans to pray for our success here,” he said.
Meanwhile, the men’s indoor hockey team continued their sterling performance by keeping up their five-win streak in the round robin by beating Indonesia 3 – 2.
The Malaysians were undeterred when their rivals took an early lead in the sixth minute with a Candra Prawesti goal, as Muhammad Firdaus Omar equalised in the 13th minute. The Indonesians seized the lead again in the 30th minute courtesy of Muhammad Firdaus but Malaysians Abdul Khaliq Hamirin and Syed Mohamad Syafiq Syed Cholan replied with goals of their own in the 35th and 37th minute to secure Malaysia’s victory.
Malaysia and Indonesia will meet each other in the finals tomorrow after finishing first and second respectively in the round robin competition.
The men’s team coach Mohd Hanip Che Halim expressed hope the players’ performance and momentum in the round robin matches have had a positive impact and would boost their spirits for the final.
‘In terms of technical planning, I hope players are more focused and aggressive so that everything we planned will translate well tomorrow,” he said.
According to the round robin format competition, the two top teams will vie for the gold medal, while the third and fourth-placed teams will share the bronze.
— Bernama
