Latest news with #AkhimullahAnuarEsook
The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Malaysia blow 3-goal lead in 4-3 loss to New Zealand
KUALA LUMPUR: The national men's hockey team have taken a difficult path towards securing a semi-final slot at the 2025 FIH Hockey Nations Cup after falling 3-4 to New Zealand in their Group B clash at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight. Chasing their first win of the tournament, 13th-ranked Malaysia delivered a promising performance in the first half, taking the lead through a field goal by Akhimullah Anuar Esook in the 18th minute. Malaysia then extended their advantage in the 38th minute with a penalty stroke converted by Fitri Saari, followed swiftly by a field goal from Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal a minute later. However, the momentum quickly shifted as Malaysia lost focus, allowing New Zealand to reduce the deficit with goals by Fin Ward (44th minute) and Simon Yorston (45th minute). In the second half, Sean Findlay and Ward struck again in the 46th and 52nd minutes respectively, putting New Zealand ahead and crushing the hopes of the Speedy Tigers. The result leaves Sarjit Singh's men with only one point, placing Malaysia third in the group. They now face a must-win encounter against bottom-placed Japan on Wednesday, and must do so by a significant margin. Malaysia must also hope that second-placed Pakistan (four points) suffer a heavy defeat to group leaders New Zealand (six points). The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals, while the bottom two will play for fifth to eighth place. Meanwhile, head coach Sarjit expressed his displeasure with the result, which he said was partly due to cards shown by the umpires that disrupted Malaysia's momentum. 'Disappointment and frustration. This is obvious when you have full control of the match, and suddenly you lose 4-3. Before that, we were 3-0 up because we had full control. In managing the cards, we gave them an easy, easy victory. That's all I can say,' he said.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
FIH Hockey Nations Cup: M'sia slip up against New Zealand, face tough task for semi-final spot
KUALA LUMPUR: The national men's hockey team have taken a difficult path towards securing a semi-final slot at the 2025 FIH Hockey Nations Cup after falling 3-4 to New Zealand in their Group B clash at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight. Chasing their first win of the tournament, 13th-ranked Malaysia delivered a promising performance in the first half, taking the lead through a field goal by Akhimullah Anuar Esook in the 18th minute. Malaysia then extended their advantage in the 38th minute with a penalty stroke converted by Fitri Saari, followed swiftly by a field goal from Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal a minute later. However, the momentum quickly shifted as Malaysia lost focus, allowing New Zealand to reduce the deficit with goals by Fin Ward (44th minute) and Simon Yorston (45th minute). In the second half, Sean Findlay and Ward struck again in the 46th and 52nd minutes respectively, putting New Zealand ahead and crushing the hopes of the Speedy Tigers. The result leaves Sarjit Singh's men with only one point, placing Malaysia third in the group. They now face a must-win encounter against bottom-placed Japan on Wednesday, and must do so by a significant margin. Malaysia must also hope that second-placed Pakistan (four points) suffer a heavy defeat to group leaders New Zealand (six points). The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals, while the bottom two will play for fifth to eighth place. Meanwhile, head coach Sarjit expressed his displeasure with the result, which he said was partly due to cards shown by the umpires that disrupted Malaysia's momentum. 'Disappointment and frustration. This is obvious when you have full control of the match, and suddenly you lose 4-3. Before that, we were 3-0 up because we had full control. In managing the cards, we gave them an easy, easy victory. That's all I can say,' he said.
Barnama
5 days ago
- Sport
- Barnama
FIH Hockey Nations Cup: M'sia Slip Up Against New Zealand, Face Tough Task For Semi-Final Spot
KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- The national men's hockey team have taken a difficult path towards securing a semi-final slot at the 2025 FIH Hockey Nations Cup after falling 3-4 to New Zealand in their Group B clash at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight. Chasing their first win of the tournament, 13th-ranked Malaysia delivered a promising performance in the first half, taking the lead through a field goal by Akhimullah Anuar Esook in the 18th minute. Malaysia then extended their advantage in the 38th minute with a penalty stroke converted by Fitri Saari, followed swiftly by a field goal from Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal a minute later. bootstrap slideshow However, the momentum quickly shifted as Malaysia lost focus, allowing New Zealand to reduce the deficit with goals by Fin Ward (44th minute) and Simon Yorston (45th minute). In the second half, Sean Findlay and Ward struck again in the 46th and 52nd minutes respectively, putting New Zealand ahead and crushing the hopes of the Speedy Tigers. The result leaves Sarjit Singh's men with only one point, placing Malaysia third in the group. They now face a must-win encounter against bottom-placed Japan on Wednesday, and must do so by a significant margin. Malaysia must also hope that second-placed Pakistan (four points) suffer a heavy defeat to group leaders New Zealand (six points). The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals, while the bottom two will play for fifth to eighth place. Meanwhile, head coach Sarjit expressed his displeasure with the result, which he said was partly due to cards shown by the umpires that disrupted Malaysia's momentum.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysia blow 3-0 lead in crushing New Zealand defeat in Nations Cup
KUALA LUMPUR: The national hockey team threw away a three-goal lead to suffer a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to New Zealand in a Nations Cup Group B match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Monday. It was the Speedy Tigers' 15th loss to the Black Sticks since the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia, who drew 3-3 with Pakistan in their opener on Sunday, looked to be cruising after goals from Akhimullah Anuar Esook (18th minute), Fitri Saari (38th) and Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal (39th) gave them a 3-0 advantage. But the defence, led by captain Marhan Jalil, crumbled after the 44th minute. Poor decision-making and two yellow cards proved costly as the hosts conceded four goals in just eight minutes. Fitri was shown a yellow card and sent to the sin bin in the 44th minute, and the Black Sticks quickly capitalised with strikes from Finn Ward (44th), Simon Yorston (45th), and Sean Findlay (46th). Things went from bad to worse when Muhajir Abdu Rauf received a yellow in the 52nd minute, and Ward fired home the winner moments later. The defeat leaves Malaysia with just one point from two matches. They now face a must-win clash against Japan on Wednesday to keep their semi-final hopes alive. New Zealand sealed their spot in the last four with back-to-back wins, while Pakistan, on four points, only need a draw against the Kiwis to join them in the semi-finals. National coach Sarjit Singh was livid after the collapse. "We had the game under full control but paid the price when we picked up two yellow cards," he said. "It's really disappointing. We had three points in our hands, but we blew it." New Zealand coach Greg Nicol admitted his side were fortunate. "I'm really proud of our second-half performance. I never expected us to score four goals in eight minutes." Meanwhile, Pakistan edged Japan 3-2 to stay on track for the semi-finals. The Green Shirts netted through Ali Ghazanfar (8th), Ashraf Rana Waheed (34th) and Sufyan Khan (52nd), while Kazumasa Matsumoto (9th) and Koji Yamasaki (11th) replied for Japan. Ashraf, who was named player of the match, said: "We achieved our mission by collecting full points. We hope to get a good result against New Zealand to reach the last four." Results Group A: South Korea 3 Wales 2, South Africa 3 France 4; Group B: Japan 2 Pakistan 3, New Zealand 4 Malaysia 3. Fixtures Tuesday Rest Day Wednesday Group A: South Korea v South Africa (2pm), France v Wales (4pm); Group B: New Zealand v Pakistan (6pm), Japan vs Malaysia (8pm). * All matches at National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil
New Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Vibrant Speedy Tigers crush South Korea in second friendly
KUALA LUMPUR: The national men's hockey team hammered world No. 14 South Korea 4-1 in their second friendly at Jincheon Training Centre on Thursday. World No. 13 Malaysia, who are preparing for next month's Nations Cup in Bukit Jalil, scored through Akhimullah Anuar Esook (sixth), Nursyafiq Sumantri (17th), Muhajir Abdu Rauf (23rd) and Harris Iskandar Osman (44th). The Koreans replied off a penalty corner in the eight minute. Malaysia had three penalty corners and converted one. On Wednesday, Sarjit Singh's side beat their rivals 4-1 in the first friendly. The Speedy Tigers will take on the Koreans again on Saturday.
