KUANTAN: Perak ended their 21-year wait for the Razak Cup hockey title after upsetting favourites Kuala Lumpur 3-0 in the Division One final at the Kuantan Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
Mohd Najib Abu Hassan set the silver state on the road to victory with a field goal after 12 minutes. But they had to wait until the 54th minute to score goal No. 2 with Hafifi Hafiz Hanafi on target with his penalty corner. Mohd Noor Khairul Azrain completed the scoring in the 65th minute with another field goal.
Perak received the top prize of RM10,000 while 19-time champions KL earned RM7,000.
It was sweet revenge for Perak as they had lost 4-3 to KL in the group stage.
Perak coach Kulwant Singh was overjoyed with the win.
He singled out international defender Mohd Azlan Misron for his commanding display.
“The players played their hearts out for the win ... I couldn’t ask much from them,” said Kulwant.
“We had a short time to prepare for this tournament. As the tournament progressed, we got better as a unit. The camaraderie that we had off the pitch was a major factor in our win,” he added.
Meanwhile, Selangor gained promotion to Division One after a five-year hiatus by beating Armed Forces 3-1 in the Division Two final. Selangor scored three field goals through Faridzul Afiq Mohd (10th), Muhammad Amerullah (34th) and Mohd Noor Faeez (60th). Tuan Abdul Walid Tuan Aziz scored Forces’ consolation goal in the 46th minute.
Selangor received RM5,000 while Force went home with RM4,000.
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