JAKARTA - The Indonesian Men's Field Hockey National Team (National Team) failed to fulfill the ambition of advancing to the final round of the 2026 Asian Games Qualification so that it will only compete for third place against Uzbekistan.
The Garuda squad failed to reach the final after losing 2-3 to Sri Lanka in the semifinal which took place at the Royal Thai Air Force Hockey Field in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday, April 9, 2026, WIB night.
"We apologize that we have not been able to meet the target of the 2026 Asian Games Qualification final," said team captain Aulia Akbar Ardh in a statement received.
Sri Lanka's three winning goals were scored by Udayashan Fernando, Suresh Rathnayeke, and Rajitha Kualathuna. Meanwhile, two goals from the Garuda Squad were scored by Abdullah Al Akbar and Aualia Akbar Al Ardh.
Akbar said that this failure was very unfortunate because they actually had so many opportunities to win, but failed to take advantage of it.
"In the third and fourth quarters, we took control of the game, but we are still not lucky. We have to make improvements so that we can perform better in the future," he said.
The coach of the Indonesian Men's Field Hockey Team, Muhammad Dhaarma Raj, revealed that his children performed below their performance so that they could not win.
"Sri Lanka's three goals were created because of individual mistakes by the players. Now we have to quickly fix it to face Uzbekistan in the fight for third place," he said.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan failed to enter the final after losing to Oman with a score of 4-4 (5-4). The match for third place is scheduled to take place on Friday, April 10, 2026.
"We will fight to the end to be able to occupy the third place and repeat the results achieved in the 2022 Asian Games Qualification," said Akbar.
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