Dharmaraj’s women eye first win
AFTER suffering two defeats, the Malaysian women’s hockey team are hopeful of a win against Belgium in the World Hockey League Semi-Finals in Brussels.
Coach K. Dharmaraj has urged his players to end their final Group B match with a victory.
He believes this is their final and best chance to win three points and qualify for the knockout stage.
“I know that our match against Belgium will not be easy, but we can try and hope that Belgium do not play to their true potential.
“It’s no easy task especially after watching them play against Australia. Belgium, in my opinion, created more chances.
“They were just unfortunate to not score any goal,” said Dharmaraj, referring to Belgium’s 1-0 defeat to Australia.
On Thursday, the Malaysian Tigress lost 3-1 to Spain following their 3-0 defeat to Australia in the opening group tie.
The Malaysian squad, however, have shown great promise and even surprised Spain when they took an early lead through skipper Siti Noor Amarina Ruhani, who converted a penalty corner in the third minute.
Woken up by the goal, Spain turned the heat on and got the equaliser in the 28th minute through Carola Salvatella.
A brace by Lola Rieira in the 31st (penalty stroke) and 36th minute (penalty corner) sealed victory for the Europeans. Fabian Peter