HANGZHOU, Sept 26 — The national hockey squad kept their winning streak going on their mission for Malaysia’s elusive Asan Games gold medal by thrashing Oman 11-1 at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium here today.
Forward Mohd Ashran Hamsani, 28, pulled off a heroic hat-trick in Malaysia’s second Group B match.
Malaysia, ranked 10th in the world, did not take very long to get on the scoreboard, with Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim’s strike in the 3rd minute through a penalty corner.
He went on to double that lead with a penalty stroke in the 11th minute. Two more goals by Mohd Ashran and Shello Silverius in the 14th and 18th minutes respectively put Malaysia 4-0 ahead.
The Speedy Tigers continued to dominate the match, but a lapse in focus allowed Oman, ranked 23rd in the world, to pull one back in the 23rd minute through Fahad Al Lawati, after Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal was sent to the ‘sin bin’ following a yellow card for fouling an opposing player.
Oman’s goal only went on to spur the national squad, as A. Arulselvaraj’s charges scored three more goals not long after through Faizal Saari in the 26th minute, Azrai Aizad in the 29th minute and Mohd Ashran in the 30th minute for a comfortable 7-1 lead.
In the third quarter, the Speedy Tigers piled more misery on their opponents, with four goals, all within five mins from Najmi Farizal Jazlan in the 34th minute, Mohd Ashran at the 35th minute mark, Azrai Aizad at the 36th minute mark and Faizal in the 39th minute with no more goals featured in the last quarter.
This was Malaysia’s biggest win over Oman in eight matches since 2013. They scored 7-0 victories over the same opponent at the Asia Cup 2022, Asian Games 2018 and the second round of the 2014/15 Men’s Hockey World League.
In the post-match roundup, Arulselvaraj said despite the huge win, he felt there was still much room for improvement in the squad’s technical play, especially after they failed to score in the last quarter.
“Another big win, with us completing the task with field, penalty corner and penalty stroke goals. My biggest concern is not about the scoring, but getting my players out uninjured, so I am glad that there were no major injuries.
“For the next game against Indonesia, we have to ensure our fundamentals are correct because it is not about who we play, but how we play. We play our game and need to continue with our good habits in the next matches,” he said.
After opening their campaign with a 9-0 victory over Thailand two days ago, Malaysia have now taken six full points after two matches.
The Speedy Tigers will play Indonesia next on Thursday, followed by a much tougher tie against South Korea on Sunday before completing their final group match against host country, China on Monday.
— Bernama
