Malaysia qualified for the final of the 2026 Sultan of Johor Cup by defeating a depleted Pakistan 3-2 in a high intensity match at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru on Wednesday (Oct 21).
This is the second time the national Under-21 squad qualified for the final in the 14-year history of the SOJC. The Young Tigers won a gold medal in the 2011 inaugural tournament, silver in 2013, bronze in 2015 and 2019, and finished fourth in 2017.
With three consecutive victories, the Young Tigers are sitting at the top of the table standings on nine, and are assured of their place in Saturday’s final, although they still have a match in hand against Canada on Friday.
The Malaysians may face Japan or Pakistan in the final. Both teams conclude their fixture with a match against each other on Friday. The Green Shirts and Japan boast six-equal points.
For the record, Pakistan defeated Malaysia twice in the 2026 Junior Asia Cup in Mogi (Hulunbuir), Inner Mongolia, China.
The Pakistanis got off the block early and earned a penalty stroke in the 12th minute, but goalkeeper Abid Amsyar Hanis parried Rana Waleed’s flick.
Malaysia took the early initiative and T. Naaveenesh Panicker nailed the opening goal in the 21st minute, but Pakistan came back strongly. Adeel scored goals in the 36th and 43rd minutes as the Green Shirts led 2-1 for the first time.
The atmosphere in the match, however, turned heated in the 51st minute when Pakistan was reduced to 10 men following a red card received by Waleed from Hong Kong umpire Chow Ming Yuen for an infringement. The Green Shirts were further penalised three minutes later when Mustafa Ghulam received a yellow card which called for five minutes ‘cooling down’ on the bench.
The situation allowed the Malaysians to score two goals. Safwan Salihi scored in the 55th minute and Naeveenesh netted the third goal two minutes later.
Pakistan was reduced to eight players on the field in the last two minutes of the match following the suspension of Haider Asam, who also received a yellow card in the 58th minute.
Despite the victory, Malaysian head coach Nur Saiful Zaini said: “The team played well in all four quarters to get back into the game and score goals. But I was concerned when we had eight penalty corners and could not score in any of them.”
