Group B: Malaysia 4 (Ismail Abu, Hafifi Hafiz Hanafi, Tengku Abd, Faizal Saari) Russia 3 (Alexey Sergeev 2, Alexey Mamoshkin)
Malaysia edged a thrill-fest to open the third day at the Champion's Challenge II, ending Russia's faint hopes of advancing to the semi-finals.
Malaysia made the best use of a non-stop, counter-attack battle in front of a vocal support to build up a 2-0 half-time lead through Ismail Abu's corner deflection and Hafifi Hafiz Hanifi's rebound.
Russia let three corners slip by before the break but Alexey Sergeev nailed the fourth six minutes into the second half and his side were level inside 30 seconds when Alexey Mamoshkin's reverse bobbled up and over Kumar Subramaniam.
Chances flew by at each end, with Leinster-based umpire Kris Cholewa letting the game flow well. Kelvinder Singh almost scoring one of the more outrageous 3d efforts before Tengku Abd stabbed home a corner rebound. Sergeev's drag-flick made it 3-3 in the 56th minute to raise Russian hopes once more but Faizal Saari smashed in from the top of the circle to kill the game and end Russia's chances. Malaysia top the group with three wins.
