Armed
Forces emerged champions of the National Indoor Tournament when they defeated
Kuala Lumpur 3-1 on penalty strokes after being tied 4-4 at the end of
regulation time at the Indera Mulia Stadium in Ipoh.
It
was the first major title for Armed Forces since their Razak Cup triumph in
1982.
And
in the women’s final, Malacca showed their class in romping to a 4-0 win over PDRM.
Malacca
won the bronze in the men’s category while Penang were third in the womens
category.
Both
teams were presented with the Raja Dato Seri Ashman Trophies by FIH President
Leandro Negre and HRH Sultan Azlan Shah.
Former
international Chua Boon Huat was the unfortunate player to have missed the
crucial stroke in the penalty stroke shoot out when his attempt bounced off the
upright. Muhd Nurhafiz Jamil Azomi stepped up to put the ball past Mohd Fitri
Jasni to give Armed Forces the title.
Armed
Forces took the lead in the 2nd minute via Mohd Syafiq Yaacob. But
the city side were on level terms in the 5th minute through Kevinder
Singh. But Armed Forces went ahead again through Mohd Hanip Che Halim but
Kevinder was on target seconds later to make it 2-2.
Chua
made it 3-2 for KL in the 13th minute only for Syafiq to score two
minutes later. A goal by Chua gave KL a 4-3 halftime lead. But Armed Forces
never gave up and netted the equaliser 70 seconds from time off a penaltry
stroke converted by Mohd Nurhafiz.
In
the women’s final Malacca took the lead in the 11th minute through
Nor Aisyah Yaacob. And in the 26th minute they were 2-0 up via Ayu
Malina Zainuddin.
Awaratul
Aisyah Yaacob made it 3-0 in the 30th minute before Nur Aisyah
scored the fourth in the 40th minute, taking her tally in the
tournament to 30 goals which ensures she finished as top scorer.
Roll of Honour
Men
Champion: Armed Forces
Runner Up: Kuala Lumpur
Third: Malacca
Most Promising Player: Muhammad Najmi Farizal Jazlan
(Perlis)
Man of the Match (Final): Chua Boon Huat (Kuala Lumpur)
Best Goalkeeper: Mohd Khairul Affendi Kamarulzaman (Armed
Forces)
Top Goal Scorer: Mohd Anuar (Malacca)
Fairplay: Pahang
Women
Champion: Malacca
Runner Up: PDRM
Third: Penang
Most Promising Player: Nurizwana Ahmad Tajuddin (Penang)
Man of the Match (Final): Ayu Malina Zainuddin (Malacca)
Best Goalkeeper: Nur Afiqah Omar (Malacca)
Top Goal Scorer: Ayu Malina Tajuddin (Malacca)
Fairplay: Johor
