Malaysia requires big victory over Japan to finish in the top four in Asian Champions Trophy
Malaysia’s national hockey side requires a big win against Japan in their last pool match at the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Ordos, China in order to meet their target of a top-four finish in the event.
The Malaysians who are currently at the fifth place on the points table with four points had lost their first two games against Pakistan 2-3 and South Korea 3-4 respectively before defeating China by 4-2 and levelling against India at 2-2.
Tai Beng Hai’s athletes will have a tough time against the Japanese, who also need a victory to qualify for the final and the coach is well aware of the fact.
“Whether our campaign is successful or not hinges on the outcome of this one match. We have played well in all our matches, including in the defeats by Pakistan and South Korea,” Tai Beng Hai, the coach of the Malaysia’s national side stated about their
performance in the event.
“It is not over yet and we have an even chance of beating Japan,” Beng Hai further added to his comments.
The Malaysian athletes have scored 11 goals while conceding the equal number of goals in their four matches so far in the tournament and the national coach, Tai Beng Hai is pretty sentient of the fact that a simple victory will not be sufficient to move
in the third place play-off game. The Japanese on the other side have a plus three goal difference.
“Goal difference will be crucial. We need to win by two clear goals.” Beng Hai further stated about their next encounter against the Japanese.
Malaysia had played a five-match test series against Japan in Kuala Lumpur last month which was concluded with two victories for each side while one match ended in a draw.
It will be interesting to see what type of strategy the Malaysian team will use against the Japanese in their match-up. Both teams are eager to take a victory and end up in the final four of the exciting tournament.
Tags: