Malaysian sealed a 3-0 victory over Thailand to begin their campaign in the Women’s Junior Asia Cup on the right footing at the Al Amarat Hockey Stadium in Muscat, Oman on Saturday (Dec 7).

The tournament also serves as a qualifying event for the FIH Junior World Cup 2025 that will be held in Chile.

Nurshamine Azureen Mohammed Badusha(9th), Nur Syahirah Azwan (31st) and Nor Zulaikha Nazihah Tamjit (64th) found the back of the net for Malaysia through penalty corners.

There was more joy that awaits Nur Syahirah in this opening match. The 20-year-old defender also received the Player of the Match award.

Young Tigress head coach Lailin Abu Hassan said: “Despite this victory, I am not satisfied with the overall performance of the team against Thailand. We had many penalty corner opportunities (11 against 2) and could not convert them. The team needs to be more focus in the next game against India.”

“With tomorrow being a rest day for us, we will use that moment to view video analysis of India’s earlier match and come out with a game plan. The Indians are a strong side and we must give a good performance to stop them from winning,” added Lailin.

The Malaysians will take on defending champions India on Monday (Dec 9), followed by matches against Bangladesh on Wednesday (Dec 11) and concluding their Pool A fixture against China on Thursday (Dec 12).

The Chinese stormed to a 19-0 victory against Bangladesh in the tournament’s opening match today. Pool B will feature South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.

The Indians, who defeated South Korea 2-1 in the 2023 final to win the title for the first time, will play their first match against Bangladesh on Sunday (Dec 8) before facing Malaysia’s Young Tigress.

The top two teams in Pool A and Pool B will advance to the semi-finals on December 14. The final is on December 15.