The National Women’s Indoor Hockey Team secured a slot on the final stage after successfully defeating their opponent, Indonesia 4-2 in the last match of the round robin, Indoor Hockey Event, SEA Games 2023, Phnom Penh, Cambodia which took place at Dinosaur Park Hall , Chroy Changvar, today.
The success of the National Women’s team saw them face Thailand in the final stage tomorrow (Sunday 7 May) at 7:00pm (Malaysian time) to grab the gold medal while the Men’s Team will meet Indonesia at 5:30pm (Malaysian time) with the mission the same which is donating the gold medal for the Malaysian contingent.
Malaysia defeated Indonesia through a hat-trick by Iren Hussin who first opened the scoring in the sixth minute after ending a stroke penalty advantage before adding two more goals in the 11th minute as a result of field movement and in the 27th minute as another stroke penalty advantage.
Today’s match also saw Nur Atira Mohamad Ismail record the name of the scorer in the 15th minute after cleverly using the opportunity through the movement of the field owned and Indonesia who tried to rise by replying with two goals, failed to negate Malaysia’s progress.
After the end of the round robin, Malaysia has recorded four wins and one draw in addition to having scored 28 goals and conceded only two goals, collecting a total of 13 points.
The Head Coach of the Women’s Indoor Hockey Team, Mohd Badrul Hisham Osman expressed his gratitude for the victory achieved today besides describing their mission of winning to reach the final stage successfully realized.
“All the players played so well according to what was planned. I am satisfied with the performance that each player has shown.
“In the last quarter, Indonesia put full pressure on us and they managed to get a series of penalty corners. However, the players managed to close each of their plans to negate the advantage.
“We will re-examine today’s match in preparation for tomorrow’s final and all our mistakes will be corrected. Also in tonight’s video session, we will look back at the team’s weaknesses and plan the tactics that will be used against Thailand tomorrow.
“Our hope is of course to bring home the gold medal and we hope the players can play as well as possible. In addition, we are also asking for prayers from hockey fans in the homeland so that success favors us here,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the National Men’s Team that came down to complete the round robin schedule today met Indonesia, successfully ensuring that their unbeaten record was maintained after defeating their opponents 3-2.
A more careful and “keep your nails” style of play was shown by both teams who will meet again tomorrow with a more important mission.
However, Indonesia opened the scoring first through Candra Prawesti’s field goal in the sixth minute before the national camp responded with a penalty corner goal completed by Muhammad Firdaus Omar in the 13th minute and at the same time closed the action of the first half with both teams tied 1-1.
Continuing the second quarter, in the 30th minute, Indonesia was back in front as a result of Muhammad Firdaus’ field goal, but the goal was quickly erased by two goals from the national team as a result of Abdul Khaliq Hamirin’s field movement in the 35th minute and Syed Mohamad Syafiq Syed’s penalty corner goal. Cholan in the 37th minute.
The score remained 3-2 to close the match and Malaysia closed the round robin action in the top position with 15 full points, scoring 42 goals and conceding 6 goals.
The Head Coach of the National Men’s Indoor Hockey Squad, Mohd Hanip Che Halim is grateful that no players suffered injuries in today’s match because the meeting with Indonesia, again tomorrow is a very important match.
“Today’s match, the players showed control in the game in addition to being patient and not rushing.
“With today’s victory, Malaysia set a record without losing in five round robin matches. What I hope is the performance of the players as well as the momentum of each match that the players have shown can give a positive impact and raise the spirits of the players in the final tomorrow.
“I also hope that for tomorrow’s final, every player is in a healthy state and emotionally stable. Apart from that, in terms of tactical planning, I hope the players are more focused and aggressive on the court so that every thing planned, all the players can translate well,” he said.
