PETALING JAYA: Malaysia stormed into the Azlan Shah Cup final after a thumping 4-1 win over Japan in Ipoh on Monday (Nov 7).
The Speedy Tigers only needed a draw against Japan to finish second in the round robin format to book the final berth against South Korea.
Malaysia were in fiery form as Razie Rahim converted two penalty corners in two minutes (eighth and ninth minutes) to put the hosts 2-0 ahead.
A field goal from Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi (31st minute) and a penalty corner goal from Norsyafiq Sumantri in the 46th minute gave Malaysia a comprehensive victory.
Japan replied through two penalty corner goals from Kaito Tanaka (23rd minute) and Shota Yamada (35th minute).
South Korea, who defeated South Africa 2-1 in an earlier match, topped the group with 13 points while Malaysia were second with 10 points and the two rivals will meet in the final on Thursday (Nov 10).
Both teams played in the first match of the tournament on Nov 1 where South Korea secured an impressive 3-0 victory.
“It is not easy to play three matches in three days at the international level but the boys showed great character in fighting till the end,” said national coach A. Arulselvaraj.
Prior to the match, Malaysia defeated Egypt 4-1 on Saturday (Nov 5) and South Africa 7-2 on Sunday (Nov 6).
Results
Malaysia 4 Japan 2
South Korea 2 South Africa 1
Pakistan 4 Egypt 1
