Silver of discontent for Najmi as he has some stick for umpires

Second best: The men and women’s indoor hockey teams posing with their silver medals.

BANGKOK: National men’s indoor hockey captain Najmi Farizal Jazlan was an unhappy man as Malaysia settled for silver at the SEA Games - and he had some stick for the umpires.

Malaysia fell to Indonesia 0-2 in the shootout after the match ended 4-4 in regulation time at the Thai-Japan Sports Centre.

And Najmi believes things weren’t all equal on the court. He claims several calls from the umpires seemed to favour the Indonesian team.

“It was like six of us against eight of them,” said Najmi.

“There were many calls that should not have been made but they were, especially when we had the ball.”

But Najmi didn’t want to dwell too much on the defeat, but was proud of his team for putting up a strong fight against Indonesia.

“Despite the loss, the team played with all their heart.

“We know how strong we are, but things were out of our control in the final,” he said.

The match was a repeat of the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games final, where Malaysia fought hard but lost 1-2 in the shootouts after a 3-3 draw in regulation time.

This time, Malaysia had started on the back foot, trailing 0-2 within five minutes before catching up to make it 1-2 after Meor Mohd Azuan Hasan scored in the sixth minute.

Indonesia charged ahead to lead 3-1, but Malaysia made sure to stay in the game by equalising to 3-3 with two goals from Ashran Hamsani and Najmi Farizal Jazlan in the 18th and 19th minutes.

In the 25th minute, Shahmie Irfan Suhaimi put Malaysia ahead to make it 4-3, but Indonesia converted a penalty corner in the 31st minute to level things again.

In the shootout, Malaysia failed to score as Indonesia took the gold medal with two goals.

Meanwhile, the women’s indoor hockey team were also heartbroken after they fell to hosts Thailand 3-4 yesterday.

Malaysia’s goals came from Raja Norsharina Raja Shabuddin (ninth minute), Nor Asfarina Issahyifiqa (19th, 39th).

It was also a repeat of the 2023 SEA Games final, where Malaysia lost 1-2 in the shootout after the match ended in a stalemate after 40 minutes.