KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s five-match Test series against Japan ended in an anti-climatic way with a 2-2 draw at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Malaysia and Japan won two matches each and yesterday Izwan Firdaus Ahmad Tajuddin and Faisal Saari scored for the homesters while Toshiro Tachibanu and Kenta Tanaka replied for Japan.
Malaysia won the third match 4-1 on Wednesday and the fourth match 2-1 on Saturday after losing the first two matches with identical 2-1 scorelines last Sunday and Monday.
The national team coached by Tai Beng Hai were coasting to a win after two field goals by strikers Izwan and Faisal in the second half. But the lack of concentration allowed Japan to fight back for the draw.
Goalkeeper S. Kumar was again instrumental in keeping the Japanese from scoring in the first half.
Malaysia started aggressively in the second half and 15 minutes after the restart took the lead off a reverse stick goal from Iswan.
Five minutes later, it was his strike partner Faisal’s turn to sound the board from a field attempt.
However, the Japanese showed their grit by making a quick comeback with goals from Toshiro and Kenta in the 66th and 67th minutes.-K. Rajan, The Star
Wannabe's statement
Ever since i was a young kid, I was intrigued by the game of hockey. Players like Mirnawan Nawawi, Sohail Abbas, and Dhanraj Pillay have always come down to Ipoh for the Azlan Shah Cup and I used to go for some the editions.
This year, I was privileged enough to watch few games especially when it comes to our national team. Those days, we were one of the most feared teams in the world. Players like Chairil Anwar, S.Kuhan, Keevan Raj, Mirnawan Nawawi and Nor Saiful Zaini have been phenomenal for Malaysia and their contribution towards hockey is immense.
When I was a 8 year old, I shook hands with the great S.Kuhan, and since then, I had a strong affiliation with hockey(as in watching la...heheheh). However, the standard of hockey has dropped since they left and at one point, we used to be the beating boys for European teams.
In the last 2 years, things started to change, as experienced coach Stephen Van Huizen with the help of Tan Beng Hai have steadied the ship for Malaysia. They might not be winning titles but they are impressing in every game that they play.
Players like S.Kumar, Muhd. Marhan Jalil, Muhd Razie Rahim, Faizal Shaari, Nabil Fiqri Muhd Nur, and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin have impressed many hockey enthusiast around the world. The test games against Japan was a good run out for the team though they lost the first 2 games.
Credit should go to them as most of the players were fasting due to the month of Ramadhan. The last Sultan Azlan Shah cup saw Malaysia field a depleted and injury to S.Kumar halfway through the tournament saw Malaysia finishing last.
Though their placing was bad, but their performance have impressed many teams as S.Kumar is now lauded as the best goalkeeper in Asia. His forays in goal has been a source of inspiration for many Malaysian.
At the age, 32, he maybe a veteran but with performances such as this, he might become the 'Van Der Sar' of hockey. In the test matches, the goalie proved to be a thorn for the Japanese side as his saves and command of the D box was exceptional!
Faizal Shaari and Nabil Fiqri have made us proud by plying their trade in the Australian League. However, their stint there was short lived as they faced irregularities in their work permits. A harrowing experience for them but nevertheless, they have made us proud with their forays and Faizal Shaari has the potential to break into any squads.
Tang Beng Hai who has worked with many experienced heads will now need to use his expertise to make into this squad into a indomitable force(reminds me of the cameroon football team, the days of Mboma and Kalla, hehehehe) I doubted his abilities at first but this man has a plan, and he seems to be set on it.
He may be the man to bring to the olympics and world championships one day. With the current batch of players that we have, Malaysia is bound to be strong in the years to come.
Malaysia Boleh!
Avinesh's verdict: Slowly but surely, we will be on par with India, Pakistan and maybe, Spain(their tour there was pretty convincing) =)
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