KUALA LUMPUR: The national men's and women's hockey teams reached their respective Sea Games finals following easy victories today at the Morodok Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Shahmie Irfan Suhaimi netted a hat-trick as Malaysia outplayed Thailand 5-0 to register their third straight win in the men's round-robin competition.
He scored in the 12th, 20th and 49th minutes, while Najib Abu Hassan (17th) and Harris Iskandar Osman (30th) added the other goals for the Speedy Tigers.
Amin Rahim's side, who defeated Cambodia (6-0) and Singapore (4-3) in their opening games, will take on Indonesia in their final round-robin match tomorrow.
The match is only a formality as Malaysia and Indonesia, who are second in the standings with seven points, will face off in the final on Tuesday.
"Although we have qualified for the final, we should stay focused and beat Indonesia in our final match.
"I do not want any mistakes from the players.
"My players must play a smart game, as our main objective is to defend the goal here," said Amin.
In the women's competition, Malaysia defeated Thailand 3-0 to register their third straight win.
Khairunnisa Ayuni Sharuddin sounded the board off a penalty corner in the 23rd minute, with other goals coming from Fatin Shafikah Sukri (26th) and Nuraini Abdul Rashid (29th).
Nasihin Nubli's side will play Indonesia on Monday in their final round-robin match.
"My girls played well today despite the blistering heat.
"Although I am happy with the win, my team need to improve on penalty corner conversions.
"We will not take it easy against Indonesia. We want to top the standings before the final," said Nasihin, whose team will face Thailand in the gold-medal match on Tuesday.
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