Heartbreak at Bhubaneswar as young Speedy Tigers go down 0-4 to France

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a disappointing night for the Malaysian junior hockey squad as they lost 0-4 to France in the 2021 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup (JWC) quarter-finals in Bhubaneswar, India tonight.

French skipper Timothee Clement turned villain for Wallace Tan's charges, scoring a hattrick to bring France to its second semi-finals in the JWC, after winning the silver medal in the 2013 edition.

The action at the Kalinga Stadium saw France, under the tutelage of Aymeric Bergamo, converting a penalty corner in each quarter of the match against the Young Speedy Tigers.

Timothee's three goals came in the 14th, 24th and 60th minute, while Mathis Clement was on target in the 31st minute.

France will next face Argentina in the semi-finals as they pursue their first-ever title, while Malaysia will play the Netherlands in the fifth-to-eighth place decider on Friday.

2005 champions Argentina won 2-1 against the Netherlands in another quarter-final tie.

"This is a learning process for us, after making preparations in such a short period of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Malaysian captain Akhimullah Anuar Esook told the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in the post-match interview.

Malaysia began their Pool A campaign with a 2-1 win over Chile on Wednesday (Nov 24) before holding Belgium, the runners-up from the last edition, to a 1-1 draw on Friday and edged South Africa 4-3 on Saturday.

Malaysia's best achievement in the JWC was finishing fourth three times, in the inaugural edition in 1979, followed by 1982 and 2013.

-- BERNAMA