KUALA LUMPUR, June 6: The Malaysian men’s hockey squad (Speedy Tigers) beat Canada 4-2 in their final Group B Nations Cup match at the National Gniezno Stadium in Poland today.
The win was the first for the Speedy Tigers under coach Sarjit Singh in three matches, after having played to a 4-4 draw against Pakistan and losing 1-3 to France in their two earlier matches.
The win however, saw Malaysia remain third in Group B with four points, behind group leader France with six points and second-placed Pakistan who also have four points but with a better goal advantage.
Based on the format of the tournament, the top two teams move into the semifinals.
France and Pakistan face each other in their final Group B match later today.
Malaysia started the action today in style by taking the lead as early as the 2nd minute through Fitri Saari’s field goal and added the second in the 6th minute through Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal.
Syed Syafiq Mohd Cholan piled on the misery for Canada by scoring the third goal from a penalty corner in the 22nd minute before Canada managed to reduce the deficit in the 41st minute through Dhillon Rhopkanwar but Muhajir Abdul Rauf restored the three-goal advantage a minute later.
Canada however, managed a second goal in the 51st minute through Mansarovar Sidhu but remained rooted at the bottom of the table without any points.
The Nations Cup featured five teams in Group A (New Zealand, Poland, Austria, South Africa, South Korea) and four teams in Group B.
The Nations Cup champion will earn a chance to play in the FIH Professional League. -TVS
