MALAYSIA THRASH AUSTRIA 6-1 IN HOCKEY WORLD CUP QUALIFIER OPENER

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Bernama) – The national men’s hockey squad’s World Cup qualifying campaign got off to a good start when they thrashed Austria 6-1 in their opening Group B match in Ismailia, Egypt today.

Malaysia suffered a shock early in the match when Austria scored in the third minute through a penalty stroke by Fulop Losonci but managed to not only equalise but also take the lead in the 24th minute, thanks to two field goals by Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal and Shello Silverius.

Norsyafiq Sumantri added a third through a penalty corner in the 34th minute, while Azrai Aizad scored again 10 minutes later, followed by Akhimullah Anuar Esook’s field goal in the 52nd minute.

Marhan Jalil closed the match with Malaysia’s sixth goal from a penalty corner in the 57th minute, securing victory for Malaysia, who will meet Pakistan tomorrow and finally China this Wednesday (March 4).

The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals.

Head coach Sarjit Singh expressed satisfaction about the win, and cautioned his players against being complacent and to improve their finishing as they prepare to take on Pakistan.

“...but we need to improve on our piece conversion. We need to have a good start and we need to move the ball around. We make sure our defense is intact. Then when we have opportunity to score, we need to score.

“We need to score like today, we took our chances and we pull away the game. So that's what, we have a good team and the boys played well,” he said in a video shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation tonight.

-- BERNAMA