Defending champions Malaysia cruised to a 1-0 victory over South Korea in the last pool match of the 30th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh tonight.
Terengganu-born Akhimullah Anuar Esook, who was adjudgd the Man of the Match, had missed several goal-scoring chances in earlier matches but stamped his mark by paving the way for the Speedy Tigers’ comeback after the 2-1 defeat against the Japan last Wednesday.
National team head coach Sarjit Singh, said: “This was one of the worst matches the team played in this tournament. Performance in the first four matches was good. Today we were running with the ball too much and not getting the space. And when we got the chances, we still don’t know how to take the chances.”
“The Koreans had 12 penalty corners and we were lucky to get away. They had many youngsters playing today and if they had some seniors, I think they would have scored. Our goalkeeper (Hafizuddin Othman) was in good form today. Even in the last match against Japan we had so many chances and could not score. These players are new and have a long way to go into this set up,” added Sarjit.
Sarjit went on to say that this is the team’s fifth match and even drag-flick specialist Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan is back after three years and doing his best to be back to his old form. The team needs close to 45 matches to be in good shape and ready for the challenge.
The 24-year-old Akhimullah, whose best performance was at the 2024 FIH Men’s Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman in January this year, surprised the World No. 11 Koreans with a seventh-minute field goal.
It was the Malaysians third win in the tournament in five matches in front of more than 5,000 fans, that included FIH President Dato Tayyab Ikram.
The Speedy Tigers had earlier defeated New Zealand 6-4 and Canada 6-2, and faced defeats against Pakistan (4-5) and Japan (1-2).
The Malaysians concluded the round-robin pool matches by amassing nine points while Japan topped the pool with 13 points, followed by Pakistan (11), New Zealand (7), and South Korea (3). The Canadians are in the basement with no points.
The Speedy Tigers will face Paris Olympics-bound New Zealand in the third-fourth place match for the bronze medal.
Forward Norsyafiq Sumantri earned his 102nd international cap today, while defender Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan played in his 100th international match.
The Koreans came under heavy pressure in the last five minutes of the match, and had nine of their players camped in the semi-circle to stop the Speedy Tigers from extending the lead. On the opposite end, the Koreans earned 12 penalty corners and their efforts wilted away.