KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 23 September 2003 — Three-time champion Pakistan and Japan both qualified for the semifinal of the Asia Cup men’s field hockey tournament yesterday, beating China 7-1 and hosts Malaysia 3-2 respectively.
Pakistan completely dominated their match against China, with goals by Salim Khalid (18th minute), Nadeem Ahmad (26th and 67th minutes), Khasif Jawad (28th and 61st minutes) and Suhail Ahmad (48th and 55th minutes).
China’s lone goal was scored by Lu Peng in the 34th minute.
Pakistan’s coach Tahir Zaman said his team performed well, but stressed that they were “saving their best” for a match against India tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Japanese players ran rings around the Malaysian side and took the lead in the 8th minute when Naohiko Tobita sneaked in from a blind side to slot the ball past Malaysian goalkeeper Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim.
Tobita scored again in the 18th minute by easily converting a penalty. Malaysian skipper S. Kuhan reduced the deficit in the 55th minute, but Takahito Yamabori made it 3-1 in the 63rd minute with a penalty corner.
Malaysia’s Tajol Roslie Mohammad scored three minutes before the final whistle, but his team could not find the elusive third goal.
Japanese coach Toichi Nagai attributed the victory to fast counterattacks.
“We moved the ball around as we knew that the Malaysians lacked fitness,” he told reporters. “Malaysia too helped our cause by losing possession far too easily and we deserve the win as we were a much better side.”
Malaysian coach Paul Lissek blamed his players for losing concentration.
“When you make mistakes as we did in defense, we have no business winning the match,” said Lissek. “There is so much work to be done to improve Malaysian hockey.”
The Asia Cup runs through Sept. 28. The winner gains an automatic berth to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The other four teams in the tournament are defending champion South Korea, Bangladesh, India and Hong Kong.
