HANGZHOU — The national men’s hockey squad’s desire to qualify for the semi-finals early was blocked by South Korea after losing 3-4 in the fourth Group B match of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium here today.
In a fierce clash that saw both teams exchanging goals in rapid fire, the national squad coached by A. Arul Selvaraj, nicknamed Speedy Tigers, snatched the lead as early as the fifth minute through Mohamad Ashran Hamsani’s finishing.
South Korea equalised after its star player Jang Jong Hyun, who has extensive experience playing in the local league scene with the Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), scored from a penalty stroke in the 11th minute.
Malaysia took the lead again when Faizal Saari calmly converted a penalty corner in the 30th minute, but the opposing team managed by Shin Seokkyo once again managed to equalise through Lee Nam Yong, two minutes into the third quarter of the game.
The score was again tied at 3-3 for only a short spell when Jang’s penalty corner goal cancelled out Muhammad Razie Abd Rahim’s penalty stroke which saw both goals scored in the span of the 44th minute.
In the fourth quarter, Muhammad Razie missed a golden opportunity to put Malaysia back in front after failing to score from a penalty stroke, just before South Korea scored the decisive winner through Yang Jihun’s penalty stroke goal five minutes before the final whistle.
This is Malaysia’s first defeat in the group after beating Thailand 9-0, Oman 11-1 and Indonesia 9-2 before.
“There were some simple mistakes made such as a lapse in concentration and what I want to remind the players is ‘awareness’ around the field. This is our weakness because our awareness was a bit sluggish.
“If we play with high alertness, the movement of the ball will be good but today (it) was a little slow because we were not alert on the field,” said Arul Selvaraj after the match while refusing to blame Muhammad Razie for failing to score from the penalty stroke.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Razie admitted to being disappointed with his failure and determined to make amends and rise in the must-win match against China in the last group match on Monday.
“I take responsibility for not being able to score from that last penalty and for today’s result. I hope we will rise and do our best for the last match,” said the 26-year-old.
Three teams are currently tied on nine points, namely Malaysia, South Korea and China but Arul Selvaraj’s men are still leading for now on goal difference. — September 30, 2023