KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian women's team beat the odds to qualify for the inaugural Hockey 5s World Cup next year after a hard-fought comeback win against Indonesia in Salalah, Oman, yesterday.
They were down 2-4, equalised at 4-4, and then won the bronze medal 2-1 on a shoot-out.
It was only their second win in the tournament, but the format was kind enough for Malaysia to bag the bronze and with it, a ticket to the World Cup.
Finalists India and Thailand will also play in the Hockey 5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman, January next year.
Malaysia's goals were scored by Zati Alyani Zubir (14th minute), Nurul Safiqah Mat Isa (16th), Thibatharshini James (27th) and Nur Syafiqah Zain (30th).
In the three-each shootout, Zati Alyani Zubir Dian and Nursyakira Najwa Al-Wadqa, as well as goalkeeper Siri Noor Hafiza, took Malaysia into the World Cup.
"It was a heart-stopping match as Malaysia fought back to equalise with seconds remaining in the match and took it into a shoot-out and then the World Cup," said Malaysia team coordinator Hasnizam Hassan.
Hasnizam said they will have half a year to train the women for the World Cup, and fitness will be the main agenda.
"We had a roller-coaster ride because the team's fitness was not up to mark. So, the months leading to January will be used to improve their fitness as well as technical play as they will play some of the best teams in the world."
In their last classification match, the Malaysian women shocked Challenger Group topper Hong Kong 5-3 to cruise into the semi-finals.
The match was held at midnight Saturday and the Malaysian scorers were Zati Alyani Zubir (fifth, seventh minutes), Wan Nur Syafiqah Syahirah (13th),
Nur Zafirah Aziz (24th) and Dian Nursyakira Najwa (26th).
It was their maiden win of the tournament, but took Malaysia into the last four against India who had beaten them 7-2 in the Elite Group.
However, in the semi-finals, India beat Malaysia 9-5, but the bronze medal was like gold as this batch of players only trained for six months and played in only one local tournament at Bukit Jalil before selection before they were shipped off to Oman.
The Malaysian men begin their World Cup quest today against hosts Oman in the Elite Group in Muscat.
