KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The national men’s hockey squad created history when they qualified for the final of the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Chennai, India, tonight.
The roaring success was achieved after the Speedy Tigers only narrowly won against South Korea last Thursday, once again carved a victory by beating the same team 6 – 2 in tonight’s semi-final match.
The victory means Malaysia will meet either defending champions India or Japan, who are in the balance tonight, to decide who will reach tomorrow’s final.
The match at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium saw South Korea starting aggressively to snatch the lead when Ji Woo Cheon scored as early as the third minute through a field goal.
The Speedy Tigers, however, managed to rise to square the game after Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal scored a field goal a minute later before Najmi Farizal Jazlan doubled the position through a goal in the ninth minute.
It was a semifinal fought blow-by-blow as Malaysia’s 2 – 1 lead did not break the spirit of the opposing team, who equalised when Jang Jonghyun flicked into the net off a penalty corner in the 14th minute to make it 2 – 2.
Coach A. Arul Selvaraj’s men then doused South Korea’s fire with the third and fourth goals completed by prolific striker Faizal Saari and Najmi Farizal through penalty corners in the 19th and 21st minutes to barricade Malaysia in a comfortable 4 – 2 position.
As if that was not enough, the national squad continued to put tension with forays into the Korean circle when Shello Silverius created a twin strike sensation with two field goals in the 47th and 48th minutes to complete a stylish 6-2 demolition of South Korea.
Their grand success tonight bodes well for their chances at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, next month.
The Speedy Tigers started their 2023 ACT campaign by defeating Pakistan 3 – 1 on (August 10), followed by a 5 – 1 win over China, then losing to India 0 – 5 before bouncing back to record wins over Japan 3 – 1 and South Korea 1 – 0.
Malaysia’s best achievement in the ACT championship was finishing in third spot five times, namely in the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2018 editions.
— Bernama
