PHNOM PENH: The national women’s hockey team are on the right track to clinch the gold medal after confirming their place in the final by defeating Thailand 3-0 in their third match of the 2023 SEA Games single round league at the Morodok Techno National Stadium hockey field, here, yesterday.
In the action, Thailand’s strong opposition at the beginning of the game saw the Malaysian Tigress squad deadlocked in the first quarter before finally opening accounts in the 23rd minute through Khairunnisa Ayuni Mohd Sharuddin’s penalty corner.
The goal turned out to change the game immediately as Malaysia managed to score their second and third goals within three minutes respectively through Fatin Shafika Mohd Sukri’s field goal in the 26th minute and Nuraini Abdul Rashid’s penalty corner goal in the 29th minute.
The scoreline remained 3-0 until full-time thus giving the third consecutive victory for the squad coached by Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim in the league competition ahead of their final match against Indonesia today.
Mohd Nasihin said his team showed a high commitment against Thailand when they did not make the factor of playing under the scorching sun and heat a hindrance to performing well.
“The players played according to the plan given to them, however, there was a moment when they started to lack focus and caused the opposing team to attack.
“Overall I applaud the players’ efforts, but I demand more from them. Even though we have qualified for the final, we will still focus on the match against Indonesia, just like before and we still respect whoever we meet,” he said.
Currently, only Malaysia have qualified for the final by collecting a total of nine points to be in the top position after three matches, while Thailand are in second place (six points) and Indonesia third after collecting two points. – BERNAMA
