When Losing Not An Option

Junior Asia Cup Statistics
No Year (Host) Gold Silver Bronze
1 1987 (Karachi) Pakistan, South Korea, India.
2 1992 (Kuala Lumpur) Pakistan, Malaysia, South korea.
3 1996 (Singapore) Pakistan, India, Japan.
4 2000 (Kuala Lumpur) South Korea, India, Malaysia.
5 2004 (Karachi) India, Pakistan, South Korea.

THE Junior Asia Cup starts today, with Malaysia locking horns with Singapore in Hyderabad, India, and losing is not an option.
The tournament offers three seats to the 2009 Junior World Cup, which Malaysia and Singapore will co-host, so the curtain raiser will be a clash of pride, more than anything else.
Malaysia are in Group A with Singapore, India and Japan; while in Group B are Bangladesh, South Korea, Oman and Pakistan.
And if either Malaysia or Singapore reach the semi-finals, all the last four will be automatic qualifiers as well.
“I am confident that we have the material to beat Singapore, and then we will have to give our best against Japan to qualify for the semi-finals.
“India juniors are in a league of their own, so we will not be hoping too much out of that match,” said national juniors coach V. Muraleedharan.
TODAY: Group A -- Singapore v Malaysia, India v Japan; Group B: Oman v Pakistan, Bangladesh v South Korea.
Tomorrow: Group A -- Singapore v Japan, Malaysia v India.
July 13: Group B -- Oman v Bangladesh, South Korea v Pakistan.
July 14: Group A -- Japan v Malaysia, India v Singapore; Group B: Pakistan v Bangladesh, South Korea v Oman.