The Young Tigers fought back gallantly to hold Bangladesh to a 2-2 draw in the Men’s Junior Asia Cup at the Al Amarat Muscat, Oman on Saturday (Nov 30).
The draw took the Malaysians to second spot in Pool B with seven points – two points behind table topper Pakistan who crushed host Oman 7-0 in their third match in the tournament yesterday.
The Pakistanis, who have qualified for the semifinals, will play the Malaysians in their last pool match today (Dec 1). A win or a draw against the high-riding World No 9-ranked Pakistanis will seal the Malaysians, ranked World No. 11, a spot in the semi-finals, while a loss could still see Malaysia make the last four, as they have a plus 11 goals for (16 scored and 5 against).
Bangladesh is in third spot with 4 points, and will go head-to-head against China in their last match have a negative 4 goals (5 scored and nine against).
China who are in fourth spot have 3 points after three matches, after their only win over host Oman – 7-2, who have lost all three matches.
Muhammad Danish Danial Abdul Wahab gave the Young Tigers a 1-0 lead two minutes into the game via a field goal. But Bangladesh struck back with goals in the second and third quarters to take a 2-1 lead.
Amirul Islam converted a penalty corner in the 27thminute to restore parity, before Mohd Hasan extended the lead to 2-1 in the 36th minute in this high intensity encounter.
The Malaysians earned four penalty corners throughout the match. Muhammad Khairul Norizam converted in their third attempt in the 40th minute to level score at 2-2. The statistics remained unchanged towards the end of regulation time.
In Pool A matches, two-time champions India made mincemeat of Chinese Taipei by registering a 16-0 victory. It was their third straight win in the tournament, while Japan edged the Koreans 2-0.
India tops the table standings with nine points, with Japan in second spot on six points, and Korea in third place (4 points). Thailand are in fourth spot with one win and three points – their 1-0 win over Chinese Taipei who have lost all four matches.
Riding on their 3-2 win against Japan in their previous match, India began with early attack that fetched positive outcome. In only the seventh minute of the match, the team’s forwards secured a penalty corner which was converted by Yogember Rawat. The early lead gave India the right momentum for a high-scoring game.
