Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 11 : Malaysia on Friday produced an almost flawless performance at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here to thrash Korea 6-2 in a one-sided clash, booking their place in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy.
Korea just needed 60 seconds to get on the scoresheet as the Malaysian defender cleared the ball out but it bobbled up from a Korean stick near the goalmouth where Cheaon Ji Woo jabbed it from over his head straight into the net to wheel away in celebration. Malaysia responded immediately through Azrai Akmal as he received the ball outside the circle and dribbled his way past Korean players before sliding a tomahawk finish into the net.
From the PC, Faizal’s drag-flick was blocked by the goalkeeper but the ball rebounded out wide to Najmi, who struck a finish from a tight angle into the far corner. In the 14th minute of the game, Korea took the equaliser through Jang Jonghyun, who fired his drag-flick from the second battery into the left corner.
Malaysia took a lead into the second quarter through the wizard Faizal Saari. In the 21st minute, Najmi Azlan found the corner of the net from a penalty corner. In the 48th minute, Najib Hassan entered the circle from the right and cut it back to the goal where Seunghoon deflected it into the path of Silverius, who tomahawked a looping finish into the net.
Malaysia with dominating play against Korea secured their place in the Asian Champions Trophy final.
On the other hand, Pakistan ended its Asian Champions Trophy campaign with a 6-1 thumping win over China and finish fifth.
The contest's fate was set in the first quarter, with Pakistan starting brightly and rushing forward in attack. In the first quarter, it ran over the China backline, penetrating the circle at will and forcing errors to earn penalty corners.
The first came 28 seconds after pushback, but China was saved by an error from Muhammad Sufyan Khan. In the 10th minute, Ahtisham Aslam blasted in a pass from the right side to give the Green Shirts the lead. Caiyu Wang was forced to save after a deflection off a Chinese stick, but Muhammad Ammad was in the right spot at the right moment to tap away the rebound.
Sufyan added two more drag flicks in the next two minutes, burying them in the upper right corner.
In the second phase, the Pakistani attack persisted, forcing China to swarm its circle in order to close out space. Sufyan chose a variation pass to his right rather than a drag and a diving Hannan struck the post in the 27th minute from a penalty corner.
China showed more coordination in getting the ball out of pressure in the third quarter. After Qijun Chen's final pass into the circle provoked a mistake from Sufyan, China was awarded a short corner, which Benhai Chen tucked in.
In the 52nd minute, Ammad put another rebound past the Chinese goalkeeper with a vertical stick shot, breaking the Chinese momentum. Three minutes later, Rana skipped into the circle past two China shirts and sounded the board for Pakistan's sixth goal.
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