PETALING JAYA: Malaysia fought hard but were unable to overcome Great Britain, going down 1-4 in a Group A clash of the Olympic Qualifier in Muscat, Oman on Tuesday (Jan 16).
Britain opened the scoring in the 19th minute through a penalty corner from Will Calnan but the Speedy Tigers drew level when Shahril Saabah sounded the board with a 26th-minute penalty corner conversion.
The first half ended 1-1 but a double from Sam Ward – a 32nd-minute penalty corner and a 58th-minute field goal – and another field goal from Zachary Wallace in the 39th minute gave Britain a comfortable win.
In another group match, Pakistan defeated China 2-0 and the result has given some hope for Malaysia to battle for a semi-final spot despite their defeat.
Malaysia will need to beat Pakistan in their final match on Jan 19 (12.45am).
– TheStar