Malaysia-Pakistan final

THE Under-18 players injected some hope in the Malaysian hockey scene when they beat South Korea 3-2 in the semi- finals of the Asia Cup in Myanmar yesterday.
The boys will now square off against Pakistan who beat Japan 4-0 in the other semis.
Malaysia have only lost one match in the tournament, 4-3 to Pakistan in a Group A match, but look good to win a gold medal tomorrow.
The national players took the match to Korea, and were rewarded when Firhan Ashari scored a field goal in the 15th minute and the score held until the half-time.
And after the breather, the Koreans leveled the score with a penalty stroke awarded in the 41st minute to draw level.
Sabri Mohamed, the younger brother of former national player Tajol Rosli, then delivered with a 50th minute penalty corner goal only to see the Koreans equalise again with 40 seconds remaining on the clock.
However, Sabri was in his element in the extra-time and scored a sudden death goal to take Malaysia into the final.
“My boys never gave up and I am happy with their fighting spirit. The 2-2 equaliser came after some confusion on the remaining time, as the clock had stopped a good five minutes before regulation time and my players were in the dark.
“But then, they showed their potential against a physically better team and are now looking forward to the re-match against Pakistan,” said coach K. Dharmaraj.
The champions of the tournament will play in the Youth Olympics in Singapore in August.