They promised a famous night in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup against defending champions South Korea and it was painstakingly delivered.
The nail-biting 3-2 win over the Koreans, who had beaten them 3-0 in the round robin stage, was magical.
By tearing up the script, the Speedy Tigers presented the country the excitement of a new hockey story.
Team manager Mirnawan Nawawi said: “These are players we can cheer on and believe in. They are entitled to dream a little bigger.
“By creating something special they have received a major boost going forward.
“We want to keep the flame burning at the Nations Cup and World Cup where the competition will be intense.”
Malaysia are among eight nations that will feature at the Nations Cup in South Africa from Nov 28 to Dec 4 to gain promotion to the FIH Pro League. They are in the same group as South Korea, Japan and Canada.
At the hockey World Cup that will be hosted by India in January, Malaysia are grouped with the Netherlands, New Zealand and Chile.
Mirnawan said while major tournaments were a time of high expectation, he was confident the team will reproduce the same verve and courage as they did in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Malaysia’s success in the tournament was completely unexpected.
Coach A Arul Selvaraj’s boys began their campaign with the demoralising loss to South Korea, followed by an energy-sapping 1-1 draw with Pakistan.
From bottom of the group after their second match, they showed great character to win three matches in a row and moved to second place.
They ended a 39-year wait for the title, having reached the final on five previous occasions.
By beating South Korea, the Speedy Tigers also demonstrated their ability to tap into, and boost, the national mood.
It was a moment of collective joy for a nation weary of politics.
Further, they proved they have steel to go with their sense of adventure by avenging the 2-1 defeat by the Koreans in the Asia Cup final in Jakarta last May.
The players, some raw but carrying an exciting threat, truly gave it a go.
They brought high energy into their game when Arul Selvaraj urged them at half-time, with the score at 1-1, to play for the thousands of fans who had turned out to watch them play at Stadium Azlan Shah here.
The stadium erupted in euphoria when the team did exactly that, scoring two more goals and writing tournament history.
In the end, Shello Silverius who scored Malaysia’s first goal was named player of the tournament while Razie Abdul Rahim who converted a penalty stroke was named man of the match and earned the top scorer award.
Aminuddin Zain, who scored the third goal, best goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman, and the rest of the Speedy Tigers also received warm applause from the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, youth and sports minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu and the fans.
Now, the boys have to do it all again.