KUALA LUMPUR – The national men’s indoor hockey team ended their Group B campaign without any points, finishing at the bottom after losing 3-0 to Iran in Porec, Croatia, today.
Three-time champions Germany topped the group with nine points, followed by Iran with six points, and Argentina in third place with three points.
Only the top eight teams from the group stage advance to the quarterfinals, while the remaining four teams will compete in classification matches for the 9th to 12th places.
Malaysia started their 2025 World Cup campaign on a disappointing note, losing heavily to the Germans with a 4-12 scoreline and losing to Argentina 2-5 in their second match.
However, coach Mohd Rodzhanizam said his players displayed satisfactory discipline, including reducing minor mistakes that had cost them in their first two group matches.
He also admitted that his players had several goal-scoring opportunities against Iran and hopes they can sharpen their finishing to breach the opponents’ defense in the next stage.
“I believe that with the performance shown by the players today, they can stay more focused until Malaysia’s final match,” he said in a video shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation with the media. – February 6, 2025