I am so sorry - Luqman Hakim

HANOI: National young striker, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin is shattered on bended knees for failing to score in his penalty kick after Malaysia lost to Indonesia in the men's football bronze medal playoff which ended in a penalty shootout at the 31st SEA Games yesterday.

Luqman Hakim and Muhammad Hadi Fayyadh Abdul Razak who came on as substitutes in the second half of the action at My Dinh National Stadium, here, became the two players to suffer the ignominy of failing to convert from the spot as the national team lost 3-4 on penalty kicks (1-1 draw after regulation time) and narrowly missed the opportunity to take home the bronze.

The heartbroken 20-year-old, who is based in Belgium with club KV Kortrijk, said no one was more disappointed than himself after missing the penalty and took full responsibility for the abject failure.

"I was disappointed, very disappointed with my penalty kick. Malaysia played well with attack after attack but my penalty and Hadi's could not help Malaysia win the bronze.

"I apologise to Malaysians, my parents, the local football supporters and all parties," he told Bernama here.

The football bronze medallist of the biennial games had to be decided via penalty kicks after both teams were tied 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation play with Indonesia's Ronaldo Joybera R Junior and Malaysia's Muhammad Hadi each scoring in the second half of the match.

In the decisive penalty shootout, Luqman Hakim and Muhammad Hadi's attempts were saved by goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi while only Asnawi Mangkualam Bahar failed to hit home a penalty kick for Indonesia when his shot hit the crossbar.

Meanwhile, Luqman Hakim wants to immediately forget the disappointment here and is determined to make amends ahead of the B-23 2022 Asian Cup Championship in Uzbekistan on June 1-19.

"I have to move on from this defeat to focus on the competition in Uzbekistan because a lot of matches have to be played, so I have to put aside this frustration quickly. I will not give up and will give my best in Uzbekistan, "said the Kelantan-born player from Kota Bharu.

In his appearance at the 31st SEA Games, Luqman Hakim scored a total of three goals in the Group B competition with two of these scored against Laos and one against Singapore.

-- BERNAMA