THE national women’s team ended their Olympic qualifying campaign with a 3-0 defeat to South Korea in the semi-finals of the FIH Series Finals in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, on Saturday.
Malaysia tried their best against the Koreans but the World No 11 showed their class, especially in defending penalty corners to deny K. Dharmaraj’s side.
World No 22 Malaysia took on the Czech Republic for the third position while Korea played Ireland in the final in late matches yesterday.
“The Koreans were well-oiled and ready for us. They countered everything we tried, especially during the five penalty corners that we won.
“Their goalkeeper (Jang Soo Ji) was in top form to stop everything we threw at her while their penalty corner runners were prepared for our set-pieces.
“However, I am very proud of my players who gave their best in every match,” said Dharmaraj yesterday.
For the record, the national women’s team have never qualified for the Olympics since the event’s inception at the 1980 Moscow Games.
Nuraini Rashid was Malaysia’s top scorer with four goals while Siti Zulaikha Husain netted three.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) deputy president Datuk Dr S. Shamala said: “The girls gave their best and I am very proud of them. They did well to reach the semi-finals. Korea, however, were a class above.”