KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s dream was crushed at the Men’s Hockey World Cup tonight by Spain at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India.
Malaysia took the lead through Faizal Saari when he scored in the 34th minute.
However, Spain attacked and levelled the score in the 40th minute through Marc Miralles, scoring another through Xavier Gispert only a minute after to lead the game 2-1.
Malaysia kept pressing and put on a solid performance to make it difficult for the Spaniards, scoring through Shello Silverius in the 48th minute, levelling the score again.
The teams tied at 2-2 in full time and pressure mounted on the Speedy Tigers to win the match through a penalty shoot-out.
In the end, A. Arul Selvaraj’s charges collapsed when Spain beat Malaysia 4-3 on shoot-out, giving them the ticket to the quarterfinal.
The closest Malaysia has ever gotten to claiming the title was through a fourth placing in 1975 since the quadrennial event started in 1971. – The Vibes, January 22, 2023
