Hardi Jaafar is known for his shooting techniques, contributing many long shot goals and being a set piece taker.
[5] His impressive playing style and creative performances led to him being one of the three senior players chosen by Norizan Bakar for the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
However Malaysia finished bottom of the group after losing all three matches, 1–3 against Oman under-23, 1–3 against China under-23, and 0–4 to eventual silver medalist Iraq under-23.
In this tournament, Malaysia were beaten by China in the opening game 1–5, won 5–0 against Uzbekistan, then lost to quarterfinalist Iran 0–2.
However, Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari praised the Malaysia XI for giving a good fight against his team.