The Malaysian Tigress scored a sensational 2-1 victory over South Korea in the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy Rajgir 2024 in Bihar today.
A game like this is incredible and motivating. The victory came at a time the Malaysians needed it the most after enduring two consecutive defeats against India and China respectively.
National women’s team head coach Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim said: “We are excited about this victory. The Koreans are a strong team and are ranked higher than us. They controlled the game. But we have our strength too and we used it to our ability and advantage.”
“I believe the discussions the coaches had with the players yesterday (Wednesday) after viewing video recordings of our earlier matches and also that of the Koreans came useful today. The players played a well-structured, organised, and disciplined game throughout the 60 minutes of the match,” added Nasihin.
“Although we gave away 13 penalty corners, the players did a good job in defending and stopping the Koreans. We did not allow them to score in any. On our end, we could not score from the two penalty corners and we will have to work harder in this area,” he said.
In other matches, India and China booked their spots in the semifinals. The hosts registered a commanding 13-0 win over Thailand, while China defeated Japan 2-1.
With this win the Malaysians Tigress climbed to third spot in the pool standings with three points while defending champions India held onto second spot with nine points, just behind China, who led with nine points and a superior goal difference of +21 to India’s +18. Japan is in fourth place (2 points), Korea in fifth (1) and Thailand at the basement (1).
Next up, the Malaysians will play Japan on Saturday (Nov 16th) and conclude their pool fixtures against Thailand on Sunday (Nov 17).
The start saw the higher-ranked Koreans, who are rated World No 15, showing their class. Captain Eunbi Cheon scored a field goal on the stroke of the first quarter hooter to lead the side 1-0 against the World No.23-ranked Malaysians.
What initially looked like a one-sided game with the Koreans domination in penalty corners in every quarter, they earned 13 in total, switched as the match progressed to the third quarter.
The Malaysians took control and went on an attacking more. In a brisk counter-attack in the 36th minute Zati Alyani Muhammad Zubir restored parity through a field goal.
With their confidence soaring, the Tigress showed they are no cannon-fodders and have the pedigree to match top ranked teams on a given day. In earlier matches they were struggling with form.
Nur Shamine Azureen Mohammed Badusha displayed composure by netting the second via a field goal in the 51st minute to put the match to bed and ensure the Malaysians celebrated a well deserved and hard fought 2-1 victory.
The Koreans started their campaign in Bihar with a 2-2 draw against Japan, and lost 2-3 against the host, but found the goals remained elusive against the Malaysians despite having 13 penalty corner opportunities partly because the Tigress’ were defending well, especially goalkeeper Siti Zalia Nasir, who had a field day between the posts, and partly because the Koreans were off the target.
The match against the Japanese, said Nasihin, is crucial and will determine the Malaysians journey into the last four.
“Japan is another strong team and are ranked World No 11. They will definitely aim to rebound after the 2-2 draw against Korea and 1-1 against Thailand, and also lost 1-2 to China. We will engage in a team discussion and analyse Japan’s match structure. We will need to play a much better and stronger game than against the Koreans,” added Nasihin.