Japan v Malaysia Semi-Final: A Rematch Two Days After Japan Stole Second Place
Some semi-finals need no build-up. This one has a fresh wound driving it.
Japan and Malaysia meet in the first Asian Champions Trophy semi-final on Wednesday 4 November at 4:00pm PKT at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior Hockey Stadium in Mohali. They only played on Monday, and Japan won that one 2-1 in Jalandhar to snatch second place. Japan finished the league stage on 10 points, Malaysia on nine. So Malaysia get their rematch almost immediately, with a final on the line.
That’s what makes this tie so interesting. Malaysia don’t have to guess what Japan will do. They’ve just lived it. The question is whether they can fix what went wrong in 48 hours. Japan, meanwhile, have the psychological edge and the higher seeding, but they also know Malaysia are close enough to hurt them. A one-goal game on Monday says these sides are separated by moments, not classes.
Malaysia’s attack is the obvious threat. Abu Kamal Azrai has five goals in this tournament, and Anuar Akhimullah has four. That’s nine goals from two players, and it’s why Malaysia can never be written off even when a game is drifting. Japan’s strength has been steadier: they don’t need one man to carry them, they just keep coming, and their 2-1 win on Monday showed they can close out a tight game against direct rivals.
The stakes are plain. The winner plays the final on Thursday 5 November at 6:30pm PKT in Mohali, against India or South Korea. The loser plays the bronze-medal match earlier that day at 4:00pm PKT. Japan are chasing a third ACT final appearance. Malaysia are chasing their second. For our money, Japan start as slight favourites after Monday, but only slight. If Azrai gets an early sight of goal, this flips fast.
