Overjoyed: The Malaysian players celebrate after scoring a goal during the women’s 5th-6th classification match against Thailand. — Reuters
IT was gloomy in the hockey camp, but the women still managed to see a little ray of light when they finished fifth by beating neighbours Thailand 2-1.
That result at least earned them a place in the Olympic qualifiers.
Inpa Kunjira put the Thais ahead in the fifth minute, but Hanis Nadiah Onn equalised in the 12th minute before Nuraini Abdul Rashid got the winner in the fourth quarter, also from a penalty corner at the Gongshu Canal Park Stadium yesterday.
Skipper Nasihin Nubli said it was good to see the team ending the campaign with a win and admitted that the wait till the end for a goal was worth it.
“It feels good to get a win before heading home but it wasn’t an easy match against Thailand. We created lots of chances but eventually scored only in the final quarter of the game,” he said.
“It was nice to see Nuraini, a veteran, getting the winner.”
Nasihin said it was time to plan for the future with the youngsters.
“We need them to be even better but they need lots of competitive exposure,” he said.
“The experience they get from top-level matches like the Asian Games will be valuable.”
Malaysia will next prepare for the Olympic qualifiers in January. Malaysia are currently 19th in the world. The top five teams at the Asian Games earn a spot in the qualifiers.
This is the fifth time in a row Malaysia have finished fifth in the Asian Games. The streak started in the 2006 Doha Asiad.
Malaysia’s best finish was in 1982, when they finished with a bronze medal.
Earlier, the men’s team finished sixth after being thrashed by Pakistan 2-5 in the fifth-sixth classification game on Friday.
