Ashrafeel stars with hattrick as SSTMI bag TNB Cup in MJHL

Ashrafeel Iman Rizal (middle, holding flag) scored a hat-trick to help SSTMI Thunderbolts win 3-1 against BJSS Thunderbolts in the TNB Cup final. Credit - MHC

PETALING JAYA: Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) Thunderbolts’ Ashrafeel Iman Rizal was the hero as they clinched the TNB Cup in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) on Sunday.

Ashrafeel fired a hattrick in SSTMI’s 3-1 win over Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Thunderbolts in the final.

BJSS took the lead after Nazirul Jasni scored a field goal in the second quarter, but SSTMI bounced back in the third quarter when Ashrafeel converted two penalty corners in quick succession in the 40th and 43rd minutes.

The youngster then capped his treble with another penalty corner goal in the 54th minute, reclaiming the TNB Cup for SSTMI since they last won it in 2024.

SSTMI head coach Zaidi Zainudin admitted that they did not perform as expected in the league, where they finished in third place, but were determined to come back in the TNB Cup final.

“We did not achieve what we wanted in the league, so we made sure we shifted our focus fully to the TNB Cup.

“We looked back on our mistakes and we made sure we regained the title we won two years ago,” said Zaidi.

Meanwhile, SSTMI-PKS Uniten clinched the girls’ title after they beat Negri Sembilan 1-0 via Nur Hidayah Misra Othman’s sole penalty corner conversion in the 25th minute.