Ipoh: National men’s hockey head coach Sarjit Singh is far from pleased despite his men managing to edge Canada 3-2 in a Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (SASC) match at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium here yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Sarjit’s two main concerns are the national team’s profligacy and their tendency to concede too many penalty corners. He stated, “We often lose the ball and, on top of that, we fail to convert the chances created. That’s very disappointing. We were actually lucky because Canada failed to convert many of their penalty corner set-piece moves, otherwise, the outcome would have been different.”

Earlier, the Speedy Tigers got their goals through Akhimullah Anuar in the fourth minute, Abu Kamal Azrai in the 19th minute, and Faizal Saari in the 24th minute. Canada responded with goals from Sean Davis in the 12th minute and Matthew Sarmento in the 16th minute.

Sarjit also warned his men not to underestimate any of the teams competing this year, noting that each team has its own strengths. He highlighted Canada’s ability to hold world number three Belgium to a draw, despite being ranked 20th in the world, as an example of their strength.

Meanwhile, Canadian head coach Patrick Tshutshani, though disappointed with the defeat, expressed satisfaction with his team’s overall performance. He praised his players for matching the Speedy Tigers and noted their clinical play when in possession and moving forward. Tshutshani added, “The boys showed a bit of grit and determination, especially in the third and fourth quarters, where we started to put a lot more pressure on the Malaysian team.”

Malaysia, who began the tournament with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand, will face India tomorrow, followed by Belgium and South Korea in the subsequent matches. The top two teams after the round-robin league format will clash in the title showdown.