KUALA LUMPUR: Despite grabbing an early lead, Malaysia ended up losing 4-1 to Britain in the first leg of their Olympic qualifiers yesterday.
In a match played in 12 degrees Celsius at the Lee Valley Stadium in London, it was Malaysia who warmed up to the task first with inspector Nabil Fiqri scoring in the sixth minute from a penalty corner.
But it was not enough to stop World No 7 Britain from unleashing their firepower.
Soon, Malaysia were downed by goals from Sam Ward (33rd), Phil Roper (36th), Alan Forsyth (42nd) and James Gall (47th), leaving the nation with an uphill task in the second leg barely 24 hours later.
Azrai Aizad missed an open goal two minutes from the end, leaving a bemused coach Roelant Oltmans scratching his head.
Now, Malaysia need a miracle to beat Britain in the second leg to realise their Olympic dream after 19 years.
Even though Malaysia played their hearts out, clever Britain took their half chances and turned them into four field goals.
Meanwhile it was a night of double joy for India when both their men and women’s teams qualified for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
India’s men routed Russia 11-3 on aggregate while the women edged United States 6-5 on aggregate.