Malaysia defeated neighbours Thailand 2-0 and qualified for the semi-finals of the Bihar Asian Women’s Champions Trophy Rajgir 2024 on Sunday (Oct 17).
It took the Malaysian Tigress 41 minutes into the game to score the first goal, courtesy of Nur Afiqah Syahzani Azhar’s penalty corner conversion that came at their fourth attempt.
After plenty of drama, the Malaysians doubledtheir lead with just seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, thanks to a stunning strike from 18-year-old Nur Iman Adawiyah Mohd Suhaimi, shutting down any opportunity for Thailand to make a comeback.
Nur Afiqah also received the Bihar Player of the Match award.
Malaysia’s best performance in the Women’s ACT was a bronze medal in 2013, and a fourth–place finish in 2018.
National women’s head coach Nasihin NubliIbrahim said: “I am glad we won this game. It was our second victory in the tournament. However, unfortunately we did not play in the way we had planned. There were some mistakes that we needed to check. The first goal from a penalty corner was well executed.”
“Our fitness level is still not up to the mark compared to some of the higher-ranked Asian teams. The players must realise that they have a lot of work to do after the conclusion of the ACT as our journey continues with more tournaments. Overall, I am satisfied that we earned three points from this match,” he added.
In the Nov 19 semi-finals, the Malaysian Tigress will face China while defending champions India will take on Japan once again in what is viewed as a re-match. Meanwhile, Korea and Thailand will feature in the playoffs for fifth-sixth place.
India completed a perfect pool stage, remaining undefeated and clinching a 3-0 victory over Japan. They top the pool standings with 15 points, followed by China in second spot (12 points), the Malaysians in third spot (6 pts), Japan in fourth (5 pts), and Korea in fifth spot (4 pts). Thailand remained in the basement with one point.
Deepika scored a brace for India in the 47th and 48th minutes through penalty corners after Navneet Kaur gave India the lead in the 37thminute via a field goal. Depika is currently the leading scorer with 10 goals.
Malaysia’s entry into the last four surprisingly came straight out of the woods after enduring three defeats. It rested largely on the generosity of Paris Olympic silver medalist China, who, despite missing several key players, dismantled South Korea’s attacking and defensive machinery for a 2-0 victory.
Both goals for China were scored by Tan Jinzhuang, who later earned the Bihar Player of the Match award for her standout performance.