KUALA TERENGGANU, Sept 18 — The Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) have proven beyond doubt that they are the undisputed hockey powerhouse in Malaysia.
They won their third consecutive Malaysia Hockey League title after defeating Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) 3-1 at the Batu Burok Hockey Stadium here this evening.
THT drew first blood through a penalty shootout taken by national hockey player Mohd Fitri Saari in the 5th minute.
Not satisfied with just a goal in the first quarter, THT stepped up their attacking and scored their second via Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil in the 18th minute.
Ismail Abu scored their third in a counterattack with his shot going straight past TNB keeper S. Kumar in the 31st minute.
Just a minute later, TNB’s Muhammad Ramadan Rosli beat THT goalkeeper Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman during a goalmouth melee.
The score stood till the final whistle.
The success of THT in defending the title since 2014 earned them RM100,000, the championship trophy and medals.
THT coach Sarjit Singh said the achievement in defending the title three years in a row was something to be proud of as it was not an easy task.
“To win a game is quite easy, but to defend the title is not easy, what more, three times in a row.
“Actually at the beginning of this league, we started quite slow with only seven points from the five first matches.
“But what was good was that we managed to get 15 maximum points in the five final matches... We are also lucky, as TNB are not an easy team to beat,” he said. — Bernama
