India, Malaysia in final

Faizal Sarri converted a 59th minute penalty corner as Malaysia booked their maiden berth in the Asia Cup final with a 1-1 draw against Korea at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium last night, setting up today's final against India, who beat Pakistan 4-0 in the earlier match of the day.

The Malaysians, who needed only a point to move into the final, looked down and out trailing 1-0 with less than two minutes remaining. But they somehow managed to earn their first penalty corner of the game in the 59th minute which Sarri dispatched with aplomb.

Yang Jihun had given the Koreans the lead from a penalty corner in the 24th minute and they needed a win to progress, which they eventually failed to do.

The result not only denied four-time champions Korea a third consecutive final appearance but also robbed them of a place in next year's world cup.

The final -- a repeat of the Super 4s fixture which India had won 6-2 -- will take place at 5:30pm today after Pakistan and Korea square off for the third position at 3:00pm.

Earlier, India booked their eighth final berth with a 4-0 drubbing of Pakistan in the penultimate match of the Super 4s stage.

Two-time champions India, who had beaten the same opposition 3-1 during the group phase, initially looked unconvincing but turned their game on in the second half and scored all the four goals during that period.

The win means the former champions qualified for the final with seven points, the highest number of points from Super 4s stage while Pakistan were eliminated from the last four with just a single point.

While India eventually ran out with a convincing victory, it was Pakistan who started the game brighter.

Satbir Singh broke the deadlock in the 38th minute with a fine solo effort. The veteran darted into the circle from the right and pushed the ball, which took a deflection off the Pakistan keeper before hitting the board.

Dipsan Tirkey and Lalit Upadhyay missed two sitters before Harmanpreet made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute with a powerful conversion of a penalty corner, taking himself to the top of the goal-scorers' chart with seven goals.

Lalit further increased the margin a minute later, flicking from a prostrated position before Gurjant Singh wrapped up the victory with a firm strike from just inside the circle in the 56th minute.

The India coach Sjoerd Marijne said his pep talk at the break helped the team shrug off their initial lacklustre attitude. “It was a match of two halves. In the first half our performance was low. We had a team talk about where we went wrong. I'm happy with what came out after the break,” said the Dutchman.

India captain Manpreet Singh was happy with inflicting a sixth straight victory on their fierce rivals. “We were not concerned about the weather or other things because we don't have a hand on those things; rather we concentrated on our own game. We played well in the fourth quarter and we are happy about it,” said the young skipper.