KUALA LUMPUR – The national junior hockey squad’s hopes of reaching the final were dashed when they lost to Pakistan 2-6 in the semi-finals of the 2023 Men’s Junior Asia Cup in Salalah, Oman yesterday.
The match which took place at the Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex saw the Young Tigers take the lead when Perabu Tangaraja converted a penalty corner in the 21st minute before Pakistan equalised in the 42nd minute through Mohammad Khan.
Pakistan then doubled the lead when Abdul Rehman scored a field goal two minutes later before Malaysia made it 2-2 through Muhammad Danish Aiman Khairil Anuar a minute later.
Pakistan then produced four more goals with Abdul Shahid scoring a field goal in the 47th minute, followed by Rehman who again converted a penalty corner and scored a field goal in the 48th and 51st minutes.
Pakistan’s sixth goal was netted by Ahmad Arbaz from a penalty corner in the 58th minute.
Meanwhile, team coach Muhamad Amin Rahim said that although it was difficult to accept the big defeat, he still praised the persistence and discipline shown by his men throughout the match.
“It was very noticeable that physically we struggled quite a bit, there were several injuries suffered during the match, I have to praise my players, they performed very well in the first three quarters.
“When we return to Malaysia we will work on the physical aspects – my players were very disciplined and followed the game plan,” he said through a video shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) to the media today.
The Young Tigers are once again scheduled to meet South Korea at 9.30pm today (Malaysian time) in the third/ fourth place decider after having previously beaten the Koreans 3-1 in the third match of Group B on May 27.
Muhamad Amin said that the previous victory over South Korea cannot be used as a yardstick and therefore his squad need to work hard to ensure victory tonight. – Bernama, June 1, 2023
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