KUALA LUMPUR — The Great Britain women’s hockey team served Malaysia a generous portion of fish and chips by trouncing them 8-1 in the final group match of the Paris Olympics qualifiers in Valencia, Spain last night.
In their bid to qualify for the maiden Olympics, the Speedy Tigresses went all the way to the ‘land of paella’ only to become a punching bag against the hockey powerhouses, conceding a total of 18 goals in three games.
The previous defeats in Pool B came at the hands of the host Spain (0-7) and Canada (0-3).
Things were going smoothly for head coach Nasihin Nubli’s charges as they were spared by Great Britain in the opening 15 minutes, with the score level at 0-0 in the first quarter.
The massacre began in the second quarter of the match against Great Britain when Hannah French opened the scoring for her side in the 17th minute through a penalty corner.
Also known as Team GB, they continued the thrashing of the Speedy Tigresses in the rest of the second quarter, scoring an additional five goals courtesy of Isabelle Peter (19th), Tessa Howard (24th, 30th), Giselle Ansley (27th), and Sarah Jones (29th), making the score 6-0 in the second quarter.
The Brits, with an average squad age of 25 years, continued to show their dominance in the 43rd minute of the third quarter when the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Giselle scored her second goal of the match through a penalty corner.
Midfielder Nur Afiqah Syahzani Azhar tried to save Malaysia from further humiliation with a goal in the fourth quarter of the match, scoring in the 56th minute, while Hannah secured her brace with a penalty corner in the 59th minute, making the score 8-1 and burying Malaysia’s hope of qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
Before the Olympic qualifiers, the Speedy Tigresses played in the Hangzhou Asian Games, finishing in fifth place with a total of 16 goals scored and 13 goals conceded.
The Speedy Tigresses also finished fifth in the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in Jharkhand, India in November last year.
According to a media report earlier, it is understood that the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) spent RM500,000 on the team to play in the Olympic qualifiers.
Previously, Scoop reported that coach Nasihin said his players were well-prepared to face their opponents in the qualifiers.
The women’s team currently ranks 19th in the world with 1,393.74 points. — January 17, 2024