KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian men’s hockey team were edged 4-5 by Japan in the third-fourth placing playoff match of the 2026 World Cup Qualifier in Ismalia, Egypt, yesterday (early today Malaysian time).
Japan opened the scoring through Ryoma Ooka in the 15th minute before coach Sarjit Singh’s men equalised through Fitri Saari in the 30th minute.
The Speedy Tigers then made it 3-1 with field goals by Marhan Jalil (30th minute) and Syed Cholan (35th minute).
Undaunted, Japan hit back to level the scores at 3-3 through a Kazumasa Matsumoto field goal in the 38th minute and Raiki Fujishima in the 52nd minute.
Japan then pulled away to a 5-3 lead with a Koji Yamasaki brace in the 55th and 57th minutes, and although Malaysia managed to score another goal through Faizal Saari in the 58th minute, the team from the Land of the Rising Sun held on for victory.
Despite the defeat, Malaysia could still qualify for the 2026 Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium, as the current world rankings show that Malaysia are in 15th place, ahead of Wales (16th) and Poland (20th).
The seventh slot of the tournament will be awarded to the team with the highest world ranking among the two teams that lost the third-place playoff matches in both qualifying tournaments.
-- BERNAMA
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