Malaysia embarked on their Tokyo Olympics 2020 journey with a whopping 16-2 win over minnows Kazakhstan in their opening Group B match in the Asian Games in Jakarta on Monday.
The huge win at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium was the perfect start for the Malaysians in their quest to win the Asiad hockey gold – which is the passport to the Olympics.
Malaysia can expect another big win when they play Thailand on Wednesday but coach Stephen van Huizen wants his side not to concede goals like they did against Kazakhstan.
However, the former Olympian was quick to point out that “such things do happen” in a game at any level even by the stronger teams.
“It is a good start and with the big win we should strive to play better in the next match as we face tougher opponents in the coming matches,” said Stephen.
Razie Rahim led Malaysia’s goalscoring with five goals followed by a hat-trick by Faisal Saari. Two players – Nik Mohamad Aiman and Shahril Saabah netted a brace each.
Faiz Helmi Jali, Meor Muhammad Azuan, Syed Mohamad Syafiq and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin scored one each in Malaysia’s thumping win.
Kazakhstan scorers were Aman Yelubayev and Ligam Abdulabayev.
Malaysia next plays Thailand on Wednesday. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
