Malaysia Create History By Beating Pakistan To Win Junior Asia Cup

MELAKA (Malaysia), May 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia created history by emerging champion in the Junior Asia Cup for the first time after beating three times former champion Pakistan 2-1 in a thrilling encounter at the Bukit Serindit hockey stadium here Sunday night. Pakistan, winners of the trophy in 1987 (Pakistan), 1992 (Ipoh) and 1996 (Singapore) were stunned in the second minute of the match with a superb penalty corner strike by Faizal Saari (centre) while Mohd Syamim Mohd Yusof made it 2-0 in the 17th minute with a field goal. More than 7,000 hockey fans who filled the stadium to the brim, including Ruler of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, Malaysian Hockey Confederation President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Melaka Yang Dipertua (Governor of Melaka) Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob were treated to an entertaining match. Malaysia started the match aggressively and earned a penalty corner which Faizal placed to the far left hand corner beyond Pakistan goalkeeper Mazhar Abas' stretched arms. However, Pakistan pulled a goal back in the 42nd minute through Muhammad Irfan to give the home fans some anxious moments before the final whistle restored order. The goal put Faizal as the joint top scorer of the tournament with South Korea's Seong Ju Lee. The win today was also sweet revenge for Malaysia who were the beaten finalist during the 1992 final held in Ipoh when Pakistan emerged victorious. Malaysian coach Dharmaraj Abdullah said his charges were not intimidated by Pakistan's prowess but after taking a two goal lead, there were a little complacent to allow Pakistan to score. "The two early goals had boosted the confidence of the players but in the end we had to work really hard to maintain the advantage," he said. Meanwhile, defending champion India beat South Korea 2-1 in extra time after the score was tied 1-1 in regulation time. Seungju You had given the Koreans the lead in the 47th minute while India managed to equalise in the 54th minute. Indian skipper Akashdeep Singh struck the winning goal 10 minutes in extra time to give his team the third place. (photoBERNAMA) MALAYSIA