Malaysia bounced back from its 1-8 loss to India on Wednesday, defeating Japan 5-4 in a nerve-wracking encounter to keep their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals alive in the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) here at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.
Before the start of the match, Malaysia’s prolific goal scorer Faizal Saari was presented with a white cap by Ghulam Ghous, the Asian Hockey Federation Director of Coaching and Development. It signifies Faizal’s 300th appearance in an international match.
With this first win in four matches, the Speedy Tigers amassed four points and climbed to fourth spot in the points standings behind India (12), Pakistan (8), South Korea (5), followed by China (3) while Japan (1) reeling in the basement.
Fresh from capturing their second Olympic bronze medal, the Indians cruised to a 3-1 win over the Koreans today for their fourth consecutive ACT victory while Pakistan triumphed 5-1 against China.
Despite the temperature hovering at around 14 degrees Celsius, the Speedy Tigers gave a valiant performance at the start of the first half by taking a 2-0 lead through drag-flick specialist Syed Shafiq Syed Cholan (12th) and Norsyafiq Sumantri ‘s 21st minute field goal with the full knowledge of the importance of this match.
“It was a good win but one that came at a high price. Several of our players are injured. They played their hearts out today, were clinical in some moments, and also made mistakes along the way that allowed Japan to equalize 2-2,” said Sarjit, adding that the team deserved this victory.
“To score five goals in an international match is applaudable. But if only we had not missed many opportunities, we should have won by a bigger margin,” he said.
With no matches scheduled for tomorrow, the players will rest and recover from injuries before they take on the Koreans on Saturday (Sept 14) in their last round-robin match.
“The Koreans have always been a strong side. The coaching setup will have to come up with an ideal plan and structure to contain them. Only a win against the Koreans can determine our passage to the semifinals,” he stressed.
The new-look Speedy Tigers with several youngsters who made their way into the national team barely four months ago, are on a mission to gain as much experience and exposure playing against stronger teams in their preparation for the 2026 Asian Games.
The 1-8 thumping by India was just a ‘wake-up’ call and a strong message. The late American Got Talent contestant Jane ‘Nightbirde’ Marczewski is best remembered by inspiring millions around the world with her famous original song ‘It’s Okay’.
So, it’s Okay to lose against the best teams in the world. Nothing sinister, Nothing brutal.
The defeat against the Indians was just a wakeup call, and it inspired the Speedy Tigers to roll back into their dreams and they gave an inspiring performance against the Japanese.
Ken Nagayoshi restored parity for Japan with a brace in the 24th and 28th minutes via penalty corner conversions. Both sides played aggressively in the third quarter before Tanaka Tsubasa extended Japan’s score to 3-2 in the 36th minute via a field goal.
The Speedy Tigers came back into the match with Syed Shafiq Cholan’s second penalty corner goal (40th) to draw level at 3-3 while Syarman Mat Tee (47th) and Azrai Abu Kamal (48th) extended the lead to 5-3.
Matsumoto Kazumasa, however, scored Japan’s fourth goal in the 51st minute from open play as the score stood at 5-4 at the end of regulation time.
The high intensity match also saw former national junior team captain Muhammad Faris Harizan stretched out after he was struck by the ball on his face while Shafiq Hassan limped off shortly in the remaining six minutes of the match.