Sabah men, women enter hockey finals
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah defied the odds to enter both the men’s and women’s finals of the 19th Malaysia Games (Sukma) hockey competition.
It will be Sabah’s first final appearance in the history of the country’s premier multi-sport event.
In the men’s semifinal played at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium in Ipoh yesterday, the men’s team was involved in a heart-pumping match against hosts Perak.
The match was tied at 2-2 in regulation time with Granson Noel Goden and Muhammad Saifuddin Azli scoring for Sabah while Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abdul Kamal and Muhammad Najme Ahmad Hayazi scored for the home side.
Perak went all out after that but Sabah’s goalkeeper, Adrian Andy Albert, was in his element to thwart all the goal attempts.
With no extra time being played, the match went straight to the sudden-death penalty shoot-out, which Sabah won 1-0 courtesy of captain Abdul Khaliq Hamirin’s winning goal.
“We did not expect to go this far and we are very happy to have made it into the final.
“Against Perak, it was very tough with them getting home support but our players fought their hearts out.
“I’m really proud of the players... they showed great fighting spirit, determination and commitment,” said the men’s coach, Hasrul Jideh.
The other final slot will be decided between Pahang and Johor in their game last night.
The women’s team made heads turn as well with a 2-1 win over one of the tournament’s favourites, Kuala Lumpur. Florvenia Silverus and Inka Shafika Juani scored for Sabah while Kuala Lumpur replied through Qasidah Najwa Muhamad Halimi.
“This will be our first final appearance in Sukma. I hope the result will favour us,” said the women’s team team manager, Avtar Singh.
Sabah’s women will take on Selangor after they edged Terangganu in the other semifinals. The women’s final will start at 5pm while the men’s at 8pm.