Defending champion, India, was joined by Malaysia, Korea and Japan in the semifinal of the Asia Cup on Thursday.

By S. Thyagarajan

While the places for India and Malaysia were confirmed even on Tuesday, there were results to be noted before spotting the next team. Japan needed a victory against Singapore and won in a trot, thus effectively pushing out Pakistan, three time winner of the trophy, from getting a semi-final spot.

It is a pity that for the first time Pakistan is returning without a semifinal berth in the Cup since inception in 1982 at Karachi.

India recorded its fifth consecutive win in Pool B to top the pool with a goal aggregate of 46, the highest in any competition. The previous best was 43 in the Olympics at Moscow in 1980.

The race between Korea and China ended with the former finishing with a goal difference of 33 against the 26 by China.

In the semifinals on Saturday, Malaysia will take on Korea, while India meets Japan.

Results Men’s Asia Cup, Thursday 6 September 2007:

Pool A:
Japan – Singapore 8-0

Ranking: 1. Malaysia 4-10 (26-4), 2. Japan 4-9 (18-4), 3. Pakistan 4-7 (18-7), 4. Hong Kong 4-3 (6-28), 5. Singapore 4-0 (2-27)

Pool B:
China – Sri Lanka 10-2
Korea – Bangladesh 8-0
India – Thailand 16-0

Ranking: 1. India 5-15 (46-2), 2. Korea 5-10 (41-8), 3. China 5-10 (32-6), 4. Bangladesh 5-6 (16-22), 5. Sri Lanka 5-3 (13-43), 6. Thailand 5-0 (1-67).

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