03 Sep

Malaysia finally confirmed its berth in the semi-final in the men’s hockey event at the Asian Games after 7-0 win over Oman at the GBK Hockey Stadium. Malaysia will play tournament top seed India in the crossover semi-final on Thursday and national coach Stephen van Huizen said they had a slow start but it was not a problem for them to worry about. “We just needed a result and the game was not about goals and I think it was a good result all round and a good number of goals as well. “Of course, our attention be on India now and it is...

10:25 / International / Sports
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03 Sep

Malaysia finished in fifth place in women’s hockey at the Asian Games after a 2-0 win over Thailand at the GBK Hockey Stadium. Malaysia finished in fifth place for the fourth consecutive time. They also finished in fifth place in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Their best placing was in 1982 when they finished with a bronze medal. In 1986 they were fourth. The Malaysians had seven penalty corners in the match and scored one. The Thais only had one attempt. National coach Muhammad Dharmaraj Abdullah was happy that they got the result but not with the performance. “It is never easy playing the Thais...

10:08 / International / Sports
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24 Aug

Malaysia chalked up an 11-0 win over Chinese Taipei in their Group A match and took them closer to a semi-final berth at the Asian Games hockey event at the GBK Hockey Stadium. The win gave the Malaysians seven points from three matches and have one tie with Japan on Monday. The Malaysians will need to win that to confirm their berth but a lot too will depend on the Japan-China game. Malaysian coach Muhammad Dharmaraj Abdullah said they should be concerned about the goal difference and the mathematical chances of making the semi-finals. “It is down to the game against Japan. Why worry...

09:31 / International / Sports
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24 Aug

Malaysia moved closer to a semi-final place when they defeated Bangladesh 7-0 in their third Group B match at the GBK Hockey Stadium. It was their third win in as many matches and they top the group. Their next opponent will be Pakistan on Sunday. Malaysian skipper Mohamad Shukri Mutalib was pleased that the team managed to get the three points and win with relative ease. “The important thing is to get the points. We also did not want to struggle. There were plenty of chances and we did miss some easy ones. Our penalty corner was also not that effective as the Bangladesh...

09:31 / International / Sports
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23 Aug

In a day of upsets the Malaysian women’s hockey team stunned world number 11 China with a 2-2 draw in the Group A match at the GBK Hockey Stadium in the Asian Games. It was the first time the 22nd ranked Malaysians had taken a point off the Chinese in an international tournament. Earlier in the day Asiad debutants, Indonesia upset Kazakhstan 2-1 and this was followed by Hong Kong’s 3-2 defeat at the hand of Chinese Taipei. Malaysian were trailing by a goal in the ninth minute, but Hanis Nadiah Onn turned the tables and scored two goals to give Malaysia the...

01:58 / International / Sports
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23 Aug

Midfield general Mohd Fitri Saari has had two quiet matches at the Asian Games hockey event. But after scoring one goal in the 10-0 win over Thailand at the GBK Hockey Stadium on Wednesday, the Terengganu lad believes that he has surely overcome his recent poor form. “Yes, I was not playing well and was not up to my usual mark. But with the goal against Thailand, I felt much better and eager to move on. “I will be better in the next game and will try my best to score again,” he said yesterday. The Malaysians face Bangladesh in a crucial tie where they...

01:58 / International / Sports
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22 Aug

Malaysia romped to a 10-0 win over Thailand in the second Group B match at the GBK Hockey. It was an articulate performance form the Malaysians who created enough chances to walk off with a convincing win. They will now face three of the bigger threat in the group as they seek to cement their place in the semi-finals. They play Bangladesh next followed by Pakistan and Oman. National coach Stephen van Huizen said that they have had two good matches to get their moves right and will have to ready for the next three matches. “Yes, it is pleasing to see them make it...

01:57 / International / Sports
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21 Aug

The national men’s hockey team will play another weaker team in their second match at the Asian Games, but the team focus will be on keeping a clean slate. Seasoned defender Muhammad Razie Abd Rahim said that letting in two goals against Kazakhstan in their opening Group B match was not good as it showed complacency on their part. The Malaysians beat Kazakhstan 16-2 in the opening tie. On Thursday they will go up against Thailand. The Thais are a familiar foe in the SEA Games and the Malaysians should have no trouble coming on top. “But we have to focus of our job at...

01:58 / International / Sports
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19 Aug

Malaysia started their women’s hockey event with a bang when they defeated Hong Kong 8-0 in the opening Group A match in the Asian Games at the GBK hockey Stadium. It was a one-way traffic for the Malaysians as they fully dominated the game and could have won by a bigger margin. But as coach, Muhammad Dharmaraj Abdullah said they were more concerned in aiming sure the player stayed with the structure and take all three points from the game. Malaysia is ranked 22nd in the world FIH list while the Hong Kong team is a further down at 44. The Malaysians dominate the game...

00:31 / International / Sports
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19 Aug

National hockey skipper Mohamad Sukri Abdul Mutalib has called on his teammates to learn from their past experience as they seek to start the men’ hockey event at the Asian Games on a winning note. The Malaysians play an unknown quantity in Kazakhstan in their opening Group B tie at the Gelora Bung Karno hockey stadium on Monday. “None of us have played the Kazakhstan team before. So, it is a new experience. But having said that we also must not underestimate them. I am sure they will try very hard to beat us. They have nothing to lose,” he said. Sukri admitted that...

00:31 / International / Sports
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