Rajgir (Bihar), Aug 29 (IANS) Malaysia and defending champions South Korea opened their Pool B campaigns with comfortable wins in the men’s Asia Cup hockey tournament on Friday, though in contrasting styles at the international hockey stadium here.
World No. 12 Malaysia were given an early scare before recovering to beat 29th-ranked Bangladesh 4-1, while holders Korea brushed aside Chinese Taipei 7-0 in a one-sided contest.
Bangladesh struck first against the run of play in the 16th minute when Ashraful Islam converted a penalty corner. The underdogs’ lead, however, lasted only until the 25th minute as Ashran Hamsani restored parity with a fine field goal.
After the break, Malaysia shifted gears. Akhimullah Anuar (36’) gave them the lead, before Muhajir Abdul Rauf (48’) and Syed Cholan (54’, penalty corner) extended the margin to secure three points. Malaysia converted one of their four penalty corners, while Bangladesh found the net from one of their two.
Later, South Korea produced a ruthless display to underline their title credentials. Dain Son led the charge with a hat-trick (17’, 29’, 58’), while Jihun Yang scored twice from penalty corners (27’, 50’).
Seyong Oh (53’) and Yoonho Kong (54’) added further gloss to the scoreline before Son completed his treble in the closing minutes as Korea sealed a 7-0 rout.
The results set up an enticing clash between Malaysia and Korea on Saturday, which could decide the pecking order in Pool B. Bangladesh will look to bounce back when they face Chinese Taipei earlier in the day.
In Pool A matches on Friday, Japan take on Kazakhstan while India play China in the final game of the day.
The Asia Cup doubles up as a qualifying event for the 2026 FIH World Cup, to be co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands from August 14–30.
–IANS
hs/bsk/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
