THE men’s national indoor hockey squad began their campaign to defend the Indoor Hockey Asia Cup in style when they thrashed Oman 10-2 in a Group B action in the 2024 edition in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan, today.
Defender Muhammad Najmi Farizal Jazlan stole the limelight when he scored a hattrick by putting Malaysia ahead in the seventh minute followed by a second in a personal effort and rounding up with a penalty corner in the 31st minute.
Striker Abdul Khaliq Hamirin and defender Muhammad Aminuddin Mohd Zain scored two goals each in the 12th and 34th minutes and the 19th and 27th minutes respectively.
Three more goals for the squad managed by head coach Mohd Rodzhanizam Mat Radzi were contributed by midfielder Muhamad Izham Azhar through a penalty corner goal (17th), striker Muhammad Ashran Hamsani's field goal (25th) and striker Faridzul Afiq Mohd completed Malaysia's victory with field goal (33rd').
Oman's two goals were produced by Asama Barazahan who scored a field goal (18th minute) while Rashad Al Fazari took advantage of a penalty corner to score the last goal of the match (37th minute).
Despite scoring 10 goals against Oman, Mohd Rodzhanizam admits that there are still mistakes made by his men and hopes that the coaching staff can help the team fix those problems in search of a second win against the hosts tomorrow.
"The meeting against the hosts, Kazakhstan tomorrow will definitely not be an easy match because they are a strong team.
"The management and the coaching staff also hope that the players can play well and provide great resistance to the opponent," he said in a statement by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation.
After Kazakhstan, Malaysia will continue the group competition by facing the 2023 SEA Games champion Indonesia, also scheduled to take place tomorrow.
In the second round, the top two teams of each group will be placed in Group C while the remaining teams will be placed in Group D.
The top two teams in Group C not only qualify for the final stage but automatically qualify for the 2025 World Cup.
Malaysia created history at the 2022 edition in Bangkok, Thailand when they won the inaugural Asia Cup championship by defeating eight-time champions Iran, 3-2, through penalty shootout after the two teams were tied 4-4 in regular time. – Bernama
