What's the prize for beating Malaysia twice in an international friendly triangular?
I suggest that the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) buy Japan coach Siegfried Aikman a set of "I love Malaysia" souvenir glasses.
Aikman must surely be pleased with his men for beating Malaysia 3-0 and 1-0 (April 17 and April 20 at the National Hockey Stadium) but he is peeved about a broken glass incident at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
The Dutch coach took to social media with his grouse: "Service in the high quality hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Today (April 20) I dropped a glass on the floor in my hotel room. Unfortunately the glass broke. The hotel decided that they will replace the glass and that I have to pay 20 ringgit for the broken glass Shame on you!!!"
As he is here for a friendly tournament, let's send Aikman home with a friendly gesture so that he remembers Malaysia on a pleasant note.
Even though the MHC have nothing to do with the hotel's policies, a souvenir to take home will still be nice for Aikman.
In the same breath, let's buy Great Britain a similar set as well for being gracious enough to come to Kuala Lumpur and play amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Japan are ranked World No 15, four rungs below Malaysia. But after the Tokyo Olympics, the Samurais are set to have a better ranking.
Aikman was modest enough to give Malaysia some credit on social media after Japan's 1-0 win in the second friendly.
"Samurai Japan won the 2nd match in the friendly series. Malaysia was unlucky. Our goalkeeper was outstanding today (April 20). He was the man of the match. Our players were not sharp. Hopefully we can get back on track (April 24) when we play Great Britain again."
Meanwhile, Malaysia have a glass jaw to worry about. The team were a shadow of themselves in the triangular, losing all three matches and letting in seven goals.
The only goal that coach Arul Selvaraj's team got was by Razie Rahim off a penalty corner against Britain.
Some may argue that Malaysia are not going to the Tokyo Olympics, while Japan and Great Britain are gearing up for the Greatest Show on Earth.
But that's still no excuse for Malaysia to lose all their matches so far.
The hosts can redeem themselves in their final match of the triangular against Britain today.
In an earlier match, the national team seemed to be on top of their game against the Britons, but again their fitness let them down. The visitors scored two quick goals inside one minute for a worthy 3-1 win.
Malaysia, despite their home ground advantage, have been disappointing. Covid-19 may have made field training difficult, but it's the same situation for Japan and Britain. So, no excuses here too.
Today is Malaysia's last chance to avoid a "100 per cent losses" in the triangular. Arul's men really need to be great against Britain.