Malaysia hold India to 3-3 draw but Sardar Singh's men inch closer to Asia Cup final

Asia Cup hockey tournament on Sunday. Rahim (12th, 21st, 56th minutes) converted three penalty corners for Malaysia, while India made a valiant fightback after being two goals down, scoring through Vishnukant Singh (32nd), SV Sunil (53rd) and Nilam Sanjeep Xess (55th). India had earlier defeated Japan 2-1 in their first match on Saturday.

Meanwhile in the other Super 4 league match, South Korea defeated Japan 3-1 to move to four points. South Korea had earlier drawn 2-2 against Malaysia in their first match. As the Super 4's table stands, South Korea with a goal difference of +2 (5-3) are on top of the table with India (GD) +1 (5-4) are placed second. Japan with two defeats have no chance of making it to the final while Malaysia (GD) 0 (5-5) have an outside chance if they can beat Japan by a comprehensive margin (minimum 2 goals) provided India and South Korea match ends in a draw. On the day, Malaysia started brightly and put the Indian defence under sustained pressure.

Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera was brought to action in the sixth minute when he made a fine save to deny Muhammad Hassan's reverse hit. Malaysia earned a penalty corner from the resultant move but Karkera positioned himself perfectly to keep out Faizal Saari's try. It was all Malaysia in the first quarter as the Indian team failed to get a single shot on target. Malaysia's consistent pressure secured them another penalty corner in the 12th minute and this time Rahim beat Karkera with a powerful low flick to the right bottom corner of the board. The Indians upped their game in the second quarter and created a few chances but that didn't result in a goal. Malaysia, on the other hand, secured another penalty corner in the 21st minute and once again