Malaysian Tigress Warm Up For WHWL By Mauling HIC Club 3-1 In Amsterdam

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Bernama) -- The National women’s hockey team that is in Amsterdam, Holland to prepare for the Women’s Hockey World League (WHWL) Semifinals in Belgium, put up a sizzling performance to beat HIC Club from Holland 3-1 in a friendly match Tuesday. The WHWL will be held in Brussels, Belgium from June 21 to July 2. In the match played at the HIC Club in Amsterdam, the ‘Malaysian Tigress’ went on the offensive right from the start and their aggressive play paid off early when Fatin Shafika Mohd Sukri scored in the 4th minute from a penalty corner strike. When the second quarter started, skipper Siti Noor Amarina Ruhani stretched the lead in the 20th minute before Hanis Nadiah Onn made it 3-0 in the 53rd minute to give coach Muhammad Dharma Raj Abdullah’s side a comfortable lead. HIC Club who had in the past beaten Malaysia 3-0 during their European Tour in April, scored a consolation goal in the 57th minute but a late surge failed to stop the Malaysian girls from walking out winners. “We played very aggressive and kept pressing from the start...caught them by surprise because HIC had beaten us 3-0 in the past. Today (Wednesday) we tried to play differently, to defend and rely on counter attacks differently, in each quarter. “Early goals from us made it difficult for them. This could be one optional way to play the games we need to win,” said Dharma Raj in a statement. The ‘Malaysian Tigress’ who are in Holland to play a number of warm up matches before heading to Brussels for the main task are scheduled to play Club Pinoke on Wednesday and Hurley on Thursday. Malaysia will start their WHWL Group B campaign against Australia on June 21, followed by Spain on June 22, Belgium (June 24) and New Zealand (June 27). Meanwhile, the men’s hockey squad which competes in the World Hockey League (WHL) in London from Thursday until June 25, warmed up for the tournament by beating Canada 2-1, Great Britain 4-2 and Wales 4-1 in their three warm up matches. The squad coached by Stephen van Huizen, open their Group A campaign against Argentina on Friday before taking on England (June 17), South Korea (June 18) and China (June 20). -- BERNAMA