Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s hopes of making the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup went up in smoke after a 0-2 loss to India in their last Group A match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
The Malaysians did well to hold the Indians to a scoreless first half. But the tide changed in the second half with the Indians breaking the deadlock in the 39th minute with Poonam Rani scoring a field goal.
Lily Chanu Mayengbam added the second, also a field goal, in the 46th minute to put India through to the last four as the group runners-up.
Malaysian coach Mohmed Nasihin Nubli said that they played well but were not able to sustain their defensive play in the second half.
“They caught us fast with their counter-attack early in the second half. We should have been more alert. But the players did well and it was probably our best game here and now we must remain fifth in Asia,” he said.
China ended as Group A champions after whipping Hong Kong 7-0 for their third win. Liang Meiyu scored a hat-trick (27th, 48th and 51st) while the other scorers were Peng Yang (13th), Xu Xiaoxu (37th), Xi Xiayun (42nd) and Wang Na (49th).
In Group B, Japan easily booked their berth in the semi-finals after a 12-0 drubbing of Kazakhstan. Mazuki Arai (third, 40th and 70th), Akane Shibata (second and 19th), Aya Ueda (26th and 59th), Akiko Ota (8th), Miyuri Nagakawa (15th), Mayuri Ono (21st), Shiho Skai (64th) and Aki Matsuhashi (68th).
The Japanese finished runners-up behind unbeaten South Korea with six points. The Koreans completed their group match with a 16-2 win over Taiwan.
In tomorrow’s semi-finals, Japan will play defending champions China while Korea will take on India.
The tournament is also a World Cup qualifier. China and South Korea have booked their berths to Holland through the World Hockey League. Japan, however, need to win the title to go through to Holland.
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