By Balqis Jazimah Zahari
Photo & sources : Pejabat SUK
IPOH: Japan successfully held the champion title after defeating Pakistan in the 30th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Championship.
Japan clinched victory through a penalty shootout of 4-1 after both teams drew 2-2 in regular time in the final match.
Earlier, the Queen of Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim, graciously attended the final match between Japan and Pakistan at the Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium yesterday.
The match began with Japan opening the scoring in the 12th minute through Seren Tanaka’s field goal.
The scoreline changed as Pakistan scored goals in the 34th and 37th minutes respectively.
However, in the 47th minute, Japan equalized through Matsumoto Kazumasa’s goal.
The score remained 2-2 until the end of the game, forcing both teams into a penalty shootout to determine the champion.
For the penalty shootout, Japan started with Kosei Kawabe, Ryoma Ooka, Seren Tanaka, and Kazumasa Matsumoto successfully scoring goals, while Rana Waheed Ashra, Arshad Liaqat, and Ammad Butt failed to convert for Pakistan.
Tuanku Zara graciously presented the championship trophy to the Japanese team as the tournament champions.
Prior to that, Tuanku also had the opportunity to witness the third and fourth place decider match between Malaysia and New Zealand.
In that match, New Zealand secured third place while the Malaysian team, The Speedy Tiger, finished fourth.
