PETALING JAYA: Malaysia are looking to salvage some pride when they face Taiwan in today’s classification playoffs for fifth to eighth placing of the Women’s Asia Cup at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Thursday.
Malaysia’s target was to reach the semi-finals. They failed to do so after finishing third in Group A behind China and India. Defending champions China topped the group with the maximum nine points followed by India on six. Malaysia ended up with only three points, courtesy of their 6-0 win over bottom side Hong Kong.
“Now we will settle for nothing less than a top-five finish,” said Malaysia coach Mohamed Nasihin Nubli.
“The 2-0 loss to India on Tuesday was tough on the team, but the tournament is not over yet. We have one more match and the players are ready to put their disappointment behind them. We came with the goal of finishing in the top four. But now, we are in the position to finish fifth and we’ll grab it,” said Nasihin.
Malaysia, however, will be without first-choice rightback Raja Noorsharina Raja Shabuddin. She suffered a concussion after Tuesday’s match against India. The 22-year-old has been given a two-week medical leave.
Eighteen-year-old youngster Fatin Syafiqah will fill up the spot.
“Fatin is a good young player that can play in both defence and midfield. She’s the right person for the job. She was one of our best players in last year’s tournament so I’m sure she will rise to the occasion again,” said Nasihin.
With nothing much to lose, Nasihin is likely to send in a more attack-minded team today with Siti Nor Amalina and Noraini Abdul Rashid up front.
“We played quite defensively against China and India. Taiwan may have lost 16-2 to South Korea in the Group B match, but they can play hockey. We won’t take them lightly but we’ll explore more attacking options,” said Nasihin.
In today’s semi-finals, Group B winners South Korea will take on India while China will face Japan.
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