Malaysia missed the opportunity to find the form against four-time Asian Champions Trophy winners India as they succumbed to a 1-8 loss today at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, China.
Before the India match, the Speedy Tigers drew 2-2 with Pakistan and lost 2-4 to China. The Malaysians play Japan tomorrow and South Korea on Sept 14 to conclude their round-robin matches.
The Indians topped the table standings with nine points from three wins while the Koreans climbed to second with five points after securing a 3-2 win against China, while the Pakistanis are in third spot (5 points) following a 2-1 triumph over Japan today. The Chinese are fourth.
The Japanese are in fifth spot and the Malaysians at the bottom of the six-team table despite both teams sharing one equal point.
Speedy Tigers head coach Sarjit Singh, said: “We started slow and gave away three quick goals. It seems the players gave too much respect to India, held back, and lost confidence. The morale in the team was low when we were down by three goals in seven minutes.”
He added that the defense structure showed cracks early in the game.
“The defenders did not do a good job. It is very unsettling to be in such a situation. We saw the forwards and midfielders working hard to press for goals in the last two quarters but the Indians were uncompromising in every aspect. Our performance today was very disappointing,” added Sarjit.
The coaches and players, he said, must take responsibility at ensuring the team rises from this defeat and secures three points against Japan tomorrow which will give the team an opportunity to qualify for the semifinals stage.
“There is no other option except to play for a win against Japan tomorrow and South Korea next. What happened today must not be repeated tomorrow against the Japanese. Our mission is to win and earn three points,” said Sarjit.
India started the first quarter better with an increase in their intensity levels. Their gameplan to get off the block quickly and put the Malaysian defence under pressure, including goalkeeper Zaimi Mat Deris, paid dividends. Hardly had the Speedy Tigers settled down to the mood of the atmosphere, the men in Blue Shirts stormed to a 3-0 lead within a space of seven minutes.
Zaimi who gave an inspiring performance against the Pakistanis and Chinese in earlier matches, however, was replaced by Adrian David Albert at the start of the second half.
Raj Kumar Pal (3rd) and Araijeet Singh (6th) scored field goals while Jograj Singh converted a penalty corner in the seventh minute. The Indians dominated proceedings after sitting deep in the Malaysian circle with a 55 per cent ball possession equation compared to 45 per cent by the Speedy Tigers. They had 15 penalty corner opportunities and scored three while the Malaysians had five with no positive result.
Raj Kumar went on to register his hat-trick with two more goals (25th and 33rd minutes) while Araijeet added one more to his tally (39th) from a field goal. Former India’s national junior team captain Uttam Singh and drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh (22nd) sealed India’s big win in the tournament.
Although Akhimullah Anuar Esook pulled one back for the Speedy Tigers in the 34th minute, reducing the deficit to 1-6, it was not enough to rattle the four-time ACT champions despite a strong comeback from the Malaysians in the third and fourth quarters.