MALAYSIA FINISHES SOJC 2024 COMPETITION IN LAST PLACE

The national under-21 hockey squad led by I. Vikneswaran finished the 2024 Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) in last place after losing 3-0 in a shootout to Japan, with both teams tied 2-2 after 60 minutes of the fifth-sixth place match at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium on Saturday.

Vikneswaran was clearly disappointed with the defeat, feeling the country's young team should have recorded a victory against Japan.

"The players' mistake at the end of the match dragged it to a shootout, and it should have been avoided if the players had handled the match more wisely.

"Hockey is a 60-minute game, not 58 minutes, and players need to be smart about dealing with pressure in matches. Simple mistakes at the end of the match are not good and we have to address these weaknesses," said Vikneswaran during the post-match press conference.

Penalty corners are also among the weaknesses that will be the focus ahead of the Junior Asia Cup in Oman in November. Against Japan, the national squad converted only one of the 10 penalty corners they won.

"Penalty corners need to be better and this is one of the weaknesses I will focus on from now on, because it is very important for the team to convert penalty corners," added Vikneswaran.

In contrast to the league round, both teams appeared more cautious and quick to close the space in their own area. This approach made it difficult for their attacking players to find their targets in the first and second quarters.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 33rd minute when the national team took the lead through a field goal by Aqilrullah Che Nur, who took advantage of a lapse in the opposition defence.

Malaysia's failure to add to their tally despite winning seven penalty corners saw Japan equalise through a field goal by Yuto Higuchi.

Malaysia then regained the lead when they finally converted a penalty corner through Harris Osman in the 50th minute.

Japan came back to life with two minutes remaining, when Sri Lankan umpire Mohomead Nawshad awarded them a penalty stroke, which Jun Watanabe converted to send the match to a shootout.

Japan won the shootout 3-0, with Higuchi, Jota Nakajima and Yamato Kawahara scoring their attempts, while Harris, Aqilrullah and Muhammad Hadzalah failed to convert for Malaysia.