Hockey: Malaysia runner-up of Asian Cup

Malaysia emerged as runner-up of the Asian Cup Hockey Championship after losing to India in a thrilling final at Maulana Bhashani National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh, tonight.

The Malaysian Tigers under the guidance of head coach Stephen van Huzien lost 1-2 to India in a close match broadcasted live by a state-run television channel.

Malaysia trailed India 0-2 in the first half. India's Ramandeep Singh opened the score as early as the third minute via a field goal while Lalit Upadhyay made it 2-0 via another field goal in the 29th minute.

After the break, Malaysia led by forward Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin launched several raids but their efforts were denied by the stout Indian defence.

Muhammad Shahril Saabah raised Malaysia's hopes when he collected a cross outside the penalty box and scored in the 50th minute to reduce the deficit.

However, the score remained at 1-2 until the end of the match.

Before this, Malaysia's best achievement was third place in 2007 in Chennai, India.

The Asian champions automatically qualify for the 2018 Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.

Malaysia have qualified for the World Cup on merit.

--BERNAMA