Loss to India won't stop Malaysia's quest for LA 2028, says captain

NAGOYA: National field hockey team captain Marhan Jalil is confident Malaysia can still qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics but admits the squad will have to improve in a number of areas.

Malaysia missed out on the opportunity to secure an early ticket to LA 2028 after suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat to defending champions India in the final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday.

Marhan said he was pleased to see improvements from the squad that competed at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium.

"Of course we feel sad that we did not perform in the final. India gave a very good performance and they won the gold medal," said Marhan.

"Compared to three months ago, we were able to apply ourselves better on the pitch.

"We beat Pakistan, we beat South Korea. We were only unable to beat India in the final.

"We have to apply ourselves better in crucial matches. We cannot expect one or two individuals to do the job for us, all the players on the pitch have to work together cohesively."

Marhan remains optimistic Malaysia can still make the cut for LA 2028.

"We will go through the Olympic qualifiers and I hope the players will continue working hard. I believe we will be capable of qualifying," he added.

"The coaches will identify what areas we need to improve on and hopefully, everything will come together for us."

The national squad's next major assignment will be the Asian Champions Trophy on Oct 27-Nov 5 in India.