Asian Champions Trophy: India, Malaysia seal date in final, Pakistan secures fifth spot

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 11 : India stormed into the finals of the Asian Champions Trophy to set a date with Malaysia following a five-star performance against Japan in the semi-finals at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium on Friday.
After a nervy start to the game, the hosts slowly gained control of the game. An early penalty corner gave India an opportunity to go one in front. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh's drag flick was met by Japan's goalkeeper and they replied with a swift counterattack to put the Blues in trouble. The final shot was a whisker away from the post. 
A minute later, forward Shamsher Singh was shown a green card and he had to sit out for the next two minutes. Both sides pressed hard for a goal but the first quarter ended goalless. 
The second quarter began in Japan's favour as India made a mistake but Japan failed to punish them. Akashdeep Singh made Japan pay by scoring the first goal of the game with a field goal. 
The Indian team smelled blood and they pounced quickly to strike twice before the halftime whistle. A drag flick from Harmanpreet got India their second goal of the game, while a superb hit from Mandeep made the scoreline 3-0.
India came out all guns blazing to begin the third quarter on a strong note. Sumit made a magical run inside the striking circle to put the ball past the keeper in the 39th minute of the game, to get the 4th goal.
Karthi Selvam made it five for India in the 51st minute after Sukhjeet Singh’s pass from inside the circle.
India will face Malaysia in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Malaysia produced an almost flawless performance to thrash Korea 6-2 in a one-sided clash, booking their place in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy.
Korea just needed 60 seconds to get on the scoresheet as the Malaysian defender cleared the ball out but it bobbled up from a Korean stick near the goalmouth where Cheaon Ji Woo jabbed it from over his head straight into the net to wheel away in celebration. Malaysia responded immediately through Azrai Akmal as he received the ball outside the circle and dribbled his way past Korean players before sliding a tomahawk finish into the net.
From the PC, Faizal’s drag-flick was blocked by the goalkeeper but the ball rebounded out wide to Najmi, who struck a finish from a tight angle into the far corner. In the 14th minute of the game, Korea took the equaliser through Jang Jonghyun, who fired his drag-flick from the second battery into the left corner. 
Malaysia took a lead into the second quarter through the wizard Faizal Saari. In the 21st minute, Najmi Azlan found the corner of the net from a penalty corner. In the 48th minute, Najib Hassan entered the circle from the right and cut it back to the goal where Seunghoon deflected it into the path of Silverius, who tomahawked a looping finish into the net.
Malaysia with dominating play against Korea secured their place in the Asian Champions Trophy final. 
On the other hand, Pakistan ended its Asian Champions Trophy campaign with a 6-1 thumping win over China and finish fifth. 
The contest's fate was set in the first quarter, with Pakistan starting brightly and rushing forward in attack. In the first quarter, it ran over the China backline, penetrating the circle at will and forcing errors to earn penalty corners.
The first came 28 seconds after pushback, but China was saved by an error from Muhammad Sufyan Khan. In the 10th minute, Ahtisham Aslam blasted in a pass from the right side to give the Green Shirts the lead. Caiyu Wang was forced to save after a deflection off a Chinese stick, but Muhammad Ammad was in the right spot at the right moment to tap away the rebound.
Sufyan added two more drag flicks in the next two minutes, burying them in the upper right corner.
In the second phase, the Pakistani attack persisted, forcing China to swarm its circle in order to close out space. Sufyan chose a variation pass to his right rather than a drag and a diving Hannan struck the post in the 27th minute from a penalty corner.
China showed more coordination in getting the ball out of pressure in the third quarter. After Qijun Chen's final pass into the circle provoked a mistake from Sufyan, China was awarded a short corner, which Benhai Chen tucked in.
In the 52nd minute, Ammad put another rebound past the Chinese goalkeeper with a vertical stick shot, breaking the Chinese momentum. Three minutes later, Rana skipped into the circle past two China shirts and sounded the board for Pakistan's sixth goal.