China Beaten by Malaysia in Gold Cup Field HockeyMalaysia shattered China's hope to reach the semifinals with a 1-0 win at the Gold Cup field hockey tournament on Thursday.This was the first win for the Malaysians in three matches. They will play their last match with powerhouse Pakistan Friday. Malaysian captain K. Shanmugana Than netted the sole goal in the 12th minute of the second half from a penalty stroke. They got the spot kick when opposition goal-keeper made obstacle against Tajol Rosli Mohd. The Chinese defeat created a chance for Egypt to book a seat in the last four. Egypt will take on Ireland in their last group match Friday. Both Egypt and Ireland have three points each. Friday's other match will be Pakistan vs Malaysia. Hot favourite Pakistan and Japan reached the semifinals, beating their respective rivals Thursday. Former world champions and Asian giant Pakistan earned the tournament's biggest margin victory of 6-1 goals over Ireland in Thursday's last match and confirmed their seat in the last four from Group B. In the day's second match, Japan booked their seat in the semifinal, beating Scotland by a solitary goal in the last Group A match. India finished top of the Group A winning all three matches while Japan followed them with four points, three from today's win and one from a draw against hosts Bangladesh in the first match. |
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