MALAYSIA were three minutes away from defeat but Amin Rahim was not about to give up. First, he brought Malaysia level to 3-3 and then hit India with his trademark drag flick in sudden-death extra time as the national team made the Asian Games final for the first time ever at the Aoti Stadium yesterday.
Awaiting them in the final are Pakistan, who upset favourites South Korea 4-3 on penalty strokes after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time.
At stake will be the gold medal and automatic entry to the 2012 London Olympics and Amin is ready to drive the team again.
"I am delighted being the hero for my team.
"I was under pressure after making a mistake, which resulted in India scoring at the start of the second half but I am really glad for making up for my blunder with two goals," said Amin.
Malaysia captain Madzli Ikmar Mohd Nor said everyone played their roles well to earn the historic victory.
"We were patient and played a tactical game to win. It was a tough match as India were also looking at qualifying for the Olympics through the Asian Games.
"I can't describe my happiness right now as being in the final is like a dream for us. It all boiled down to hard work and determination today (yesterday)," said Madzli Ikmar, who has been Malaysia captain since last year.
Malaysia drew first blood in the match through Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Jalil's solo effort after 32 minutes but India's Sandeep Singh levelled proceedings off a penalty corner set-piece three minutes later.
Tushar Khandker took advantage of a defensive mix-up from Amin to put India in the lead off a field attempt in the 37th minute.
However, the young Malaysian team pressed hard and their persistence paid off through Azlan Misron, off a penalty corner set-piece, after 49 minutes.
But five minutes later, captain Rajpal Singh put India in the lead after Malaysia goalkeeper S. Kumar failed to clear the ball cleanly off a penalty corner attempt from Dhananjay Mahadik.
Then came the Amin show
Read more: NST
Awaiting them in the final are Pakistan, who upset favourites South Korea 4-3 on penalty strokes after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time.
At stake will be the gold medal and automatic entry to the 2012 London Olympics and Amin is ready to drive the team again.
"I am delighted being the hero for my team.
"I was under pressure after making a mistake, which resulted in India scoring at the start of the second half but I am really glad for making up for my blunder with two goals," said Amin.
Malaysia captain Madzli Ikmar Mohd Nor said everyone played their roles well to earn the historic victory.
"We were patient and played a tactical game to win. It was a tough match as India were also looking at qualifying for the Olympics through the Asian Games.
"I can't describe my happiness right now as being in the final is like a dream for us. It all boiled down to hard work and determination today (yesterday)," said Madzli Ikmar, who has been Malaysia captain since last year.
Malaysia drew first blood in the match through Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Jalil's solo effort after 32 minutes but India's Sandeep Singh levelled proceedings off a penalty corner set-piece three minutes later.
Tushar Khandker took advantage of a defensive mix-up from Amin to put India in the lead off a field attempt in the 37th minute.
However, the young Malaysian team pressed hard and their persistence paid off through Azlan Misron, off a penalty corner set-piece, after 49 minutes.
But five minutes later, captain Rajpal Singh put India in the lead after Malaysia goalkeeper S. Kumar failed to clear the ball cleanly off a penalty corner attempt from Dhananjay Mahadik.
Then came the Amin show
Read more: NST
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