The national hockey squad hopes of giving Malaysians a Merdeka gift by qualifying for the final of the 2013 Asia Cup hockey championship were shattered when they went down 0-2 to India in the semi-final at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium here Friday.
Malaysia celebrates its 56th Independence Day tomorrow and not only that, it was also the squad's opportunity to qualify for the final of the prestigious hockey meet for the very first time.
Malaysia will face Pakistan on Sunday in the third/fourth placing play off while India will meet defending champions in the final the same day.
India went on the attack from the start and scored as early as the eighth minute through a penalty corner that was converted by V.R Raghunath.
The national squad coached by Paul Revington tried to find the equaliser through several forays but the defence of the two times Asia Cup champions was hard to penetrate.
On resumption, Malaysia stepped up a gear in trying to find the elusive equaliser but the India's defence and keeper P.R Sareejesh were tough nuts to crack.
With Malaysia's backline opened up as the boys were going at the Indian goal, in a swift counter-attack Mandeep Singh scored again for India in the 60th minute thus sealing victory and a place in the final.
In the other semi-final match held earlier, South Korea confirmed their place in the final when they edged Pakistan 2-1.
Both teams appeared evenly matched but it was the South Koreans who drew first blood when Jang Jong Hyun scored from a penalty corner in the 32nd minute.
They further punished Pakistan when Lim Nam Yong scored their second in the 40th minute, also from a penalty corner.
Pakistan tried to rise up but the South Koreans gave no quarter and had to be contented with the consolation goal which was netted by team captain Muhammad Imran eight minutes later.
Meanwhile, in the fifth to eighth placing playoffs Japan defeated Bangladesh 3-0 while Oman beat Taiwan 2-0 in a penalty shootout after their match ended in a 2-2 draw after regulation time.
The winners will take on each other in the fifth/sixth playoff while the losers for seventh/eighth placing, tomorrow.
Bernama
Fri Aug 30 2013
-Filepic
Polis mohon bantuan kesan Raisya Rasyiqah
Polis memohon bantuan orang ramai mengesan seorang remaja perempuan berusia 15 tahun yang dilaporkan hilang di Beranang, Selangor.
Simbah cat merah, orang suruhan ah long didenda RM3,000
Seorang orang suruhan ah long mengaku bersalah atas pertuduhan menyimbah cat merah di rumah keluarga peminjam, Januari lalu.
Latihan berstruktur sektor ekonomi digital berjaya stabilkan pendapatan, perniagaan asnaf
Lebih daripada 30 asnaf bersama ahli keluarga mereka telah diraikan di Majlis Graduasi MyREF Hijrahpreneur Skills Program (MyREF HSP) di Auditorium High Impact Research, Universiti Malaya.
Polis sahkan pemain bola sepak bawa kerambit sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol
Polis telah mengenal pasti seorang pemain bola sepak yang ditahan kerana membawa kerambit ke padang bola, sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol di sebuah pusat hiburan di ibu negara.
Bernama, Perkeso meterai MoU, manfaat 493 pengamal media sambilan
Bernama dan Perkeso menandatangani MoU bagi memperluas perlindungan sosial kepada pengamal media sambilan (stringers) melalui Skim Keselamatan Sosial Pekerjaan Sendiri (SKSPS).
RADIO 360: Integrasi teknologi kumpul maklumat, data lebih komprehensif
RADIO 360 merentasi 11 stesen radio Astro yang boleh diakses di aplikasi SYOK termasuk Era, Sinar, Gegar, Hitz, Mix, My dan Raaga.
AWANI Ringkas: Pemain bola bawa kerambit juga suspek baling bom petrol
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Enam mengaku tidak bersalah culik warga China
Sepasang suami isteri dan empat individu didakwa menculik seorang lelaki warga China untuk mendapatkan wang tebusan berbentuk mata wang kripto.
Bursa gantung jualan singkat SP Setia
Bursa Malaysia menggantung jualan singkat SP Setia Bhd bagi baki tempoh hari ini selepas penyusutan harga yang ketara.
MITI mula siasat duti antilambakan import gulungan rata besi disadur timah
MITI menjelaskan tindakan itu diputuskan selepas menerima petisyen daripada pengeluar tempatan, Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia (Perstima) Bhd.
Zhao Lina lebih rela 'diving' berbanding 'catwalk' demi bola sepak
Zhao Lina menyedari bahawa peralihan karier tidak semudah begitu sahaja, menyebabkan dia membuat keputusan untuk menolak tawaran tersebut.