Jakarta: It was a day of upsets as Malaysia stunned holders India 7-6 in a shoot-off to enter the final of the Asian Games men’s hockey here on Thursday. Japan turned the tables on Pakistan 1-0 in the second semifinal to complete an unlikely final line-up, forcing India and Pakistan to battle it out for the bronze.
India, who breezed through the group stage scoring a whopping tally of 76 goals from five group games, found the Malaysians a tough nut to crack in the first half as they were held goalless.
On resumption of play, Harmanpreet Singh put the Indians ahead off a penalty corner. However, Malaysia were level soon as Faizal Saari converted a penalty corner in the 40th minute. But the Indians regained the lead in the same minute, with Varun Kumar scoring off another penalty corner.
India’s age-old problem of conceding late goals continued to haunt them as Malaysia drew level off a penalty corner in the 59th through Muhammad Razie. The Malaysians had the last laugh as they won the shoot-off 7-6.
India, led by P R Sreejesh, also missed a chance to book their place in the Tokyo Olympics as the champions here are assured of a direct entry.
