Indonesian Men's Indoor Hockey Team Locks Cambodia's SEA Games Final Tickets

Indonesian men's indoor hockey athletes celebrated after winning the 2023 SEA Games group stage match against the Philippines at the Dinosaurs Alive hall, Chrouy Changvar, Phnom Penh, Cambodia/ANTARA PHOTO/Aditya Pradana Putra

JAKARTA - The Indonesian men's indoor hockey team made sure to advance to the final thanks to a five-match clean sweep in the preliminary round of the SEA Games XXXII/2023 Cambodia.

Finally, the Red and White squad defeated the host Cambodia with a score of 6-1 at the Dinosaur Park Hall, Phnom Penh, Thursday, May 4. Muhammad Alfiana contributed greatly by scoring four goals. The rest Candra Pralesti and Prima Santoso each scored one point.

Reported by ANTARA, with this result, Indonesia is in second place in the standings with 12 points. Dhaarma Raj's team only lost on goal difference to Malaysia which was at the top of the standings with the same number of points.

Referring to the standings, the points of Indonesia and Malaysia have not been overtaken by closest competitors, namely Thailand and Singapore who both have 6 points.

In other words, Indonesia and Malaysia have also been confirmed to advance to the final to compete for the gold medal in the biggest sporting event in the 32nd edition of Southeast Asia which is scheduled to take place on Sunday (7/5).

However, before competing in the top party, Indonesia and Malaysia will first face each other in the last match of the preliminary round, Saturday (6/5) to fight for the top of the standings.

Indonesian men's indoor hockey team captain Prima Santoso said the strongest competitors at the 2023 SEA Games were indeed Thailand and Malaysia.

Indonesia beat Thailand on Tuesday (2/5) with a score of 3-0.

"Now, we just have to fight Malaysia. We continue to try to show our best. Malaysia is indeed a strong team, but will fight to achieve the goal of winning a gold medal," said Prima, who is a West Java athlete.

From the start, the Red and White squad appeared impressive. In the opening match Monday (1/5), Indonesia beat Singapore 7-0. After winning over Thialand, Prima and his friends beat the Philippines with a score of 20-0.