KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s hockey team concluded their Olympic qualification campaign in fifth place after overcoming Canada 3-1 in a penalty shootout in the fifth-sixth classification match yesterday (Jan 21).
The game played at the Oman Stadium in Muscat had earlier ended in a goalless draw.
Muhammad Firhan Ashari, Nik Muhammad Aiman Nik Rozemi and Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal all completed their attempts for Malaysia – ranked 14th in the world – to finish in the best possible position after failing to advance to the semi-finals.
For world number 18 Canada, only Floris van Son found the target, while Brenden Bisset and Balraj Panesar missed their chances.
The Speedy Tigers squad failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after finishing at the bottom of Group A in the group stage with one point, behind Great Britain, who emerged as group champions (9 points), Pakistan (4 points) and China (3 points).
The squad managed by A. Arulselvaraj started the campaign in Oman on a low note, suffering a 2-3 defeat to China on Monday (Jan 15), followed by a 1-4 thrashing by Great Britain on Tuesday and a 3-3 draw against Pakistan early Friday morning.
Only the top three teams in the qualifying campaign in Oman will qualify for Paris 2024.
The last time Malaysia qualified for the Olympics was in the 2000 edition in Sydney, Australia. – Bernama
