Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (left) is playing in his eighth Sultan Azlan Shah Cup outing and he has only found the net 17 times in 52 matches.
IPOH: Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin is the most experienced forward in the national hockey team. But he doesn’t seem to have much luck when it comes to the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament.
This is his eighth Sultan Azlan Shah Cup outing and he has only found the net 17 times in 52 matches.
That’s a poor return for a player who has represented Malaysia 218 times – scoring a total of 77 goals – and is dubbed “Zidane” for his brilliant stick work and dedication.
In fact, in this year’s edition, he has only scored once in four matches.
The 164cm-tall Tengku Ahmad’s only goal came in the 7-3 win over China on Wednesday.
Tengku Ahmad, a member of the 2010 Asian All Star team, admitted to being perplexed about losing his scoring touch when it comes to the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
“I should be scoring regularly in the tournament as I’m the most senior forward ... and I’m featuring for the eighth time in the Azlan Shah Cup.
“But somehow I just can’t seem to score,” said Tengku Ahmad, who only scored twice in six matches in the tournament last year.
Luckily for Malaysia, while Tengku Ahmad has failed to find his scoring touch, the junior strikers – debutants Mohd Shahril Saabah and Mohd Rashid Baharom – have been plundering the goals.
After four matches, Shahril, 20, has scored three goals and Rashid one.
Malaysia have 10 points from three wins and a draw. They edged South Africa 3-2, drew 2-2 with South Korea, beat Canada 3-1 and China 7-3.
Malaysia need just a draw against defending champions Australia in their last round-robin match on Saturday to seal a place in the final.
Malaysia played Australia twice in the same tournament last year, drawing 1-1 in the preliminary rounds and losing 3-2 in the final. Faizal Saari and Tengku Ahmad scored against Australia in the final last year.
The 23-year-old Faizal will be back in action against Australia after serving out a one-match suspension against China.
He was suspended for breaking a chair after being sent to the sin bin for hitting a player in the match against Canada on Monday.
Tengku Ahmad is glad that Faizal will be back for the match against world champions Australia, who are in Ipoh with their best players.
“The challenge will be on us to stop them from scoring ... they have world-class forwards. We just need to stay focused throughout the match,” said Tengku Ahmad, a member of Malaysia’s silver medal team in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
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