Speedy Tigers aim for sharper corners at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s focus now shifts to the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, with national coach Brendon Carolan identifying penalty-corner conversion as an area his side must improve after their Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) campaign.

The Speedy Tigers ended the ACT on a high, clinching bronze in Punjab, India, on Thursday with a 5-2 win over South Korea in the third-place playoff at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium.

Even so, Carolan admitted he would rather have been preparing for the final.

“Obviously, you always want to be in a final, so it’s disappointing not to be there. But I think the margins are fine.

“In that crucial game against Japan, penalty corners were something we identified that we need to work on,” he said.

Earlier, the Speedy Tigers lost 5-3 to Japan in a penalty shootout after the match finished 0-0 in the semi-finals.

Against South Korea, Fitri Saari put Malaysia ahead with a field goal two minutes into the match.

Park Geun-woo equalised from a penalty corner three minutes later, before Chun Se-min put the Koreans in front in the 13th minute.

Faizal Saari levelled from a penalty corner in the 34th minute, before Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal struck twice from open play in the 45th and 50th minutes.

Captain Marhan Jalil sealed the win with Malaysia’s fifth goal two minutes from time.

It was Malaysia’s sixth third-place finish at the tournament since its inception in 2011. Their best result remains the runners-up finish behind India in 2023.

Malaysia will next compete in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at the Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium in Ipoh from Nov 20-28.

Despite concerns over fatigue following a packed schedule, Carolan sees the tournament as part of the team’s longer-term preparations for the Olympic qualifiers next year.

“No, I wouldn’t say that. We’ve just come off the back of the Asian Games, so our preparation is more long-term.

“We’re thinking a year down the line for the Olympic qualifiers, and Azlan Shah is just one of the tournaments involved.

“We hope to expose a few guys in that tournament, and we’ve just got to find that balance because there are pretty decent teams.

“Australia are a good side, so you want to balance exposing youth while still making sure we prepare for an Olympic qualifier in a year.”