KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s men’s hockey team were a big letdown in the Olympic qualifier matches against Britain.
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Malaysia failed to qualify for next year’s Tokyo Olympics after losing to Britain by an aggregate of 9-3.
It was a disappointing performances by coach Roelant Oltmans men.
They lost 4-1 in the first Olympic qualifier match at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Saturday (Nov 2) in London and also made defensive errors in the second match and lost 5-2 Sunday (Nov 3) at the same venue.
Malaysia have failed to qualify for the Olympics for the last 20 years, having last played in the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.
Britain focused on attacking and took a 2-0 lead with Alan Forsyth scoring in the ninth minute and Sam Ward hitting the backboard in the 11th minute.
Malaysia managed to narrow the deficit with a field goal from Mohd Fitri Saari in the 24th minute.
But seven minutes later, Ward was on target again to score his second goal to give Britain a 3-1 lead.
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Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim converted a penalty corner in the 40th minute but Britain punished Malaysia for defensive errors to score two more goals in the space of just a minute.
Forsyth was the hero for Britain, netting two more goals in the 56th and 57th minutes.
Malaysia skipper Mohd Sukri Abdul Mutalib said that they were sad to let the Malaysian fans down.
“We tried our best in both matches but Britain were just too good,” said Sukri.
With Malaysia failing to qualify for the Olympics, heads are expected to roll,
A few of the senior players are also expected to retire after the Olympic qualifier matches. -The Star