Malaysia Mark First Win In Women's Asian Champions Trophy

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia finally stopped their losing streak in the first round of the Women's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy, upsetting Japan 3-2, at the Sunrise Stadium in Donghae, South Korea, Wednesday. The national squad had lost 1-3 respectively to South Korea and China in the first two matches of the biennial championship. In the match, the Malaysian Tigress squad managed by Muhammad Dharma Raj Abdullah opened the scoring through a field goal by Nur Zafirah Aziz in the first minute of the match before Ishibashi Yui levelled for Japan, eight minutes later. Malaysia once again went in front 3-1, after goals from Fatin Shafika Shukri and Nuraslinda Said in the 21st and 30th minutes, before Japan scored their second through Shimizu Minami in the 34th minute. Commenting on the victory, Muhammad Dharma Raj said he was pleased with the outstanding performance of the team, following the two earlier defeats. “It always feel good to win against a team ranked number 12 in the world. Credit to the players as they played very well with unbelievable fighting spirit,” he added. The team next face world number 10, India, in the final group match. -- BERNAMA