Malaysia Take ACT Bronze in Style: Azrai’s Double Seals a 5-2 Win Over Korea
Malaysia are going home with a medal. They beat South Korea 5-2 in the bronze-medal match at Mohali on Thursday afternoon, and they did it the hard way, coming from behind after Korea had turned the game around in the first quarter.
Fitri Saari put Malaysia ahead after just two minutes, a field goal that looked like the start of a comfortable afternoon. Korea had other ideas. Park Geun-woo levelled from a penalty corner in the fifth minute, then Chun Semin put them 2-1 up in the 13th. For a few minutes, Malaysia were chasing a game they’d started so well.
They didn’t chase it for long. Faizal Saari dragged Malaysia level from a penalty corner in the 34th minute, and from there the second half belonged to one man. Abu Kamal Azrai scored twice, in the 45th and 50th minutes, both from open play, and captain Marhan Jalil wrapped it up from a penalty corner in the 58th. Four unanswered goals. That’s how you win a bronze.
Azrai finishes the tournament on seven goals, second only to India’s Harmanpreet Singh on ten. He’s been Malaysia’s most reliable finisher all week, and he picked the biggest game of their tournament to produce his best. Malaysia scored 17 goals in the round-robin stage and added five more here, which tells you plenty about how this side plays: they back themselves to outscore teams, and on their day they usually do.
For Korea, it’s a flat end to a strange tournament. They were champions in 2021 and came into Mohali as genuine contenders, but they lost their last three games: 8-0 to India in the league stage, 8-1 to the same side in the semi-final, and now this. Fourth place, and a lot to think about before the next cycle.
Malaysia, meanwhile, leave Punjab with bronze to go with their runners-up finish in 2023. That’s two straight ACT podiums, and it keeps them firmly in Asia’s top three. The final is tonight: India against Japan at 6:30pm PKT, with the hosts chasing a sixth title and Japan hunting their first.
The result and scorers are per the tournament’s official match listing.
