GUANGZHOU, Nov 23 (PTI): India�s dream to win a gold medal in men�s hockey event of the Asian Games came crashing down after they suffered a shocking 3-4 defeat at the hands of lower-ranked Malaysia in the second semifinal at the Aoti Hockey Field, here today.
Malaysia, ranked 15th in the world, defeated the Commonwealth Games silver medallist through a golden goal after both sides were tied 3-3 at the end of regulation time, to set up a title clash with Pakistan who knocked out defending champions South Korea in the first semifinal.
Penalty corner conversion turned out to be the difference between the two sides as Malaysia converted three out of the four short corners they earned in the match, while the Indians could utilise only two out of four. The Indians were also done in by some sloppy defending inside the circle, which resulted in all the penalty corners for Malaysia.
Coming into the match with an unbeaten record, a lot was expected of India, but they cut a sorry figure against a determined Malaysian outfit who were by far the better side on display. Malaysia had better ball possession in the opening half and their hardwork bore fruit in the 32md minute, when Ahmad Tengku Abdul Jalil broke the deadlock with a field goal.
However, Malaysia�s joy was shortlived as Sandeep Singh equalised three minutes later with a powerful dragflick from a penalty corner as both teams went into the breather locked at 1-1.
The Indians looked a completely different side after the change of ends and surged ahead in the 37th minute through Tushar Khandkar�s field strike. India then displayed controlled hockey for nearly 12 minutes before Azlan Misron (49th) drew the scores level with a well worked-out variation from Malaysia�s third short corner.
GUANGZHOU, Nov 23 (PTI): India�s dream to win a gold medal in men�s hockey event of the Asian Games came crashing down after they suffered a shocking 3-4 defeat at the hands of lower-ranked Malaysia in the second semifinal at the Aoti Hockey Field, here today.
Malaysia, ranked 15th in the world, defeated the Commonwealth Games silver medallist through a golden goal after both sides were tied 3-3 at the end of regulation time, to set up a title clash with Pakistan who knocked out defending champions South Korea in the first semifinal.
Penalty corner conversion turned out to be the difference between the two sides as Malaysia converted three out of the four short corners they earned in the match, while the Indians could utilise only two out of four. The Indians were also done in by some sloppy defending inside the circle, which resulted in all the penalty corners for Malaysia.
Coming into the match with an unbeaten record, a lot was expected of India, but they cut a sorry figure against a determined Malaysian outfit who were by far the better side on display. Malaysia had better ball possession in the opening half and their hardwork bore fruit in the 32md minute, when Ahmad Tengku Abdul Jalil broke the deadlock with a field goal.
However, Malaysia�s joy was shortlived as Sandeep Singh equalised three minutes later with a powerful dragflick from a penalty corner as both teams went into the breather locked at 1-1.
The Indians looked a completely different side after the change of ends and surged ahead in the 37th minute through Tushar Khandkar�s field strike. India then displayed controlled hockey for nearly 12 minutes before Azlan Misron (49th) drew the scores level with a well worked-out variation from Malaysia�s third short corner.
