Korea and Malaysia join Pakistan and China in the semifinals of the Men's Asia Cup in Kuantan, Malaysia. Korea nailed Bangladesh 9-0 to proceed to the Final Four, while Malaysia was stronger than Japan (3-1).
Korea had an easy afternoon against Bangladesh. While only a draw was needed, the Koreans had no problem to win the clash. Korea already opened the score after two minutes and went up 4-0 at half time. Five more goals in the second half gave Korea the 9-0 victory.
Malaysia also needed a draw only to proceed to the semifinals, although this was not an easy task against Japan.Tengku Ahmad opened the score for Malaysia in the fourth minute. The home team extended the lead at the end of the first half, when Kevinder Singh put the 2-0 on the scoreboard.
Japan came back early in the second half, but when Malaysia scored the 3-1 with just more than ten minutes to play, the match was over. Malaysia even scored a fourth time, just before the final whistle.
In earlier action on Tuesday, China kicked India out of the semifinal stage. The Chinese team drew 2-2 against the tournament favorite and qualified for the Final Four.
In Thursday's semifinals, Korea will play against China, while Malaysia will meet Pakistan.
The winner of the Asia Cup will qualify directly for the 2010 FIH World Cup.
Results Men's Asia Cup:
Pool A:
Korea - Bangladesh 9-0 (4-0)
Malaysia - Japan 4-1 (2-0)
Ranking: 1. Korea 3-7 (13-3), 2. Malaysia 3-7 (12-3), 3. Japan 3-3 (8-7), 4. Bangladesh 3-0 (1-21)
Pool B:
China - India 2-2 (0-2)
Ranking: 1. Pakistan 2-4 (4-3), China 2-2 (3-3), 3. India 2-1 (4-5)
Semifinals (14 May 2009)
Korea - China
Malaysia - Pakistan
Please click here for a full overview of the Asia Cup results.
