KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia failed in their mission to end its 24-year absence from the Olympics hockey competition when they drew against Pakistan in their final Pool A match in the Paris Olympic qualifiers in Oman this morning.
The Speedy Tigers fought hard, but they were not good enough to overcome the resilience of the Flying Green Horses in a thrilling match that ended 3-3.
Pakistan showed early warnings in the first quarter through attacker Arshad Liaqat, who nearly beat goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman in a one-on-one shot after easily sprinting past the Malaysian defence.
The 20-year-old, who scored a total of four goals in the Junior World Cup, came close to opening the accounts for his side, only for his shot to be intercepted by veteran midfielder Marhan Jalil in the penalty box.
The Speedy Tigers then showed their stripes in the last 10 minutes of the first quarter when they had three shots on target through the efforts of Shafiq Hassan, Shello Silverius, and Azrai Abu Kamal, forcing goalkeeper Abdullah Ishitiaq Khan to come up with heroic saves to keep his side in the race.
The drama began in the second quarter of the match when veteran striker Fitri Saari opened the scoring for the Speedy Tigers with a fierce shot finding the opponent’s top right corner in the 20th minute.
The Flying Green Horses equalised three minutes later through a penalty corner goal from 19-year-old Sufyan Khan after he was fouled by Faiz Jali a few meters away from the penalty box.
The Tigers took the lead again in the 30th minute through attacker Azrai when he calmly slotted in the goal after receiving a low flick from Marhan in the penalty box, surrounded by six Pakistan players.
Tables were quickly turned in the third quarter when midfielder Ammad Butt showcased his skill with his hockey stick, weaving past the Malaysian defence to score the goal of the match in the 33rd minute, marking his 15th goal for his country in 65 appearances.
Malaysia continued to assert their dominance in the rest of the third quarter as head coach Arul Selvaraj’s charges earned a penalty through Abu Mahmood’s challenge on Ashran Hamsani, only for Shafiq Hassan to miss it from the spot by flicking the ball directly towards the opponent’s goalkeeper.
Veteran forward Firhan Ashari, who had been influential in the match, was rewarded for his efforts as he scored in the 40th minute to give Malaysia a 3-2 lead.
Rana Waheed Ashraf shattered Malaysia’s hope of qualifying for the Olympics when he scored in the 52nd minute after receiving a drag pass from Hannan Shahid.
Today’s draw marked the Speedy Tigers’ second winless run in a row against the world number 15 side.
The last time the two sides met was during the Hangzhou Asian Games in September of last year, where the Speedy Tigers were defeated 5-2.
Arul’s Speedy Tigers ended their Olympic qualifiers campaign at the bottom of Pool A with one point and a negative four-goal difference.
Pakistan will play against Germany in the semifinals tomorrow, while New Zealand will take on Great Britain in another semifinal match.
Malaysia will face Chile tomorrow in a fifth to eighth-place classification match. — January 19, 2024