KUALA LUMPUR – The national women’s hockey head coach, Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim, admired his players’ stellar display against Hong Kong in their opening group match at the Hangzhou Asian Games today.
Nasihin said his players capitalised on their goal-scoring opportunities in tight situations.
“It’s a promising start for us and it was great to see our players giving their best today, with Hong Kong being resilient throughout the match.
“Even though we were a bit nervous in the first half, the players scored through field goals, penalty strokes, and penalty corners. This is a positive sign for our team’s progress in this Asian Games,” said Nasihin.
However, Nasihin said that it is now important to get a good result against India in the next match.
“India is a really good team with immense experience, and I hope our team focuses on recovery and approaches the match in better physical condition.
“We have a training session tomorrow where we hope to address our flaws as we are still adapting to our surroundings.
“I expect my players to maintain this winning momentum, and we will analyse our opponent’s game against Singapore to gain insight into their strengths and weaknesses,” Nasihin added.
Malaysia defeated Hong Kong 8-0 in their opening Pool A match at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park hockey stadium today.
The Speedy Tigress scored five goals by halftime and added three more in the fourth quarter of the game.
The eight goals were scored by Fatin Shafika Mahd Sukri (11th, 40th), Nuraini Abdul Rashid (20th), Hanis Nadiah Onn (21st), Siti Zulaikha Husain (38th), Nur Insyirah Effarizal (56th), Nur Afiqah Syahzani Azhar (60th), and Wan Norfaiezah Saiuti (60th).
Malaysia will face India, ranked 7th in the world, in their second group match on Friday.
Malaysia’s women’s team is currently ranked 19th in the FIH world rankings with 1426.25 points.
Their best finish in the Asian Games came in the 1982 edition in New Delhi, where they won a bronze medal. – September 25, 2023