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Malaysia made a strong comeback after a loss to India and secured a 3-1 win over Japan, while Pakistan also bagged their first win of the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy after beating China by 2-1 at Chennai on Monday.
In the first match of the day, Malaysia took on Japan. In the fifth minute itself, Malaysia secured the first penalty corner of the match. Razie Rahim hit a drag-flick which though on target, was saved by Kaito Tanaka with his stick. In the 13th minute, Malaysia took the lead with Najmi Jazlan successfully converting a penalty corner, which the referee initially said was above the knee, but the TV umpire deemed it to be fair. Malaysia ended the first quarter with a lead of 1-0. In the starting minutes of the second quarter, Azuan Hasan was shown a green card and Malaysia was left with 10 men on the field. Both sides got some penalty corners which they failed to convert. Japan had opportunities to level the score but they could not, till the end of quarter two. In the third quarter, even Japan was down to 10 men after being shown the green card to Masaki Ohashi. In the 35th minute, Japan received a penalty corner but Malaysia goalkeeper Azhar saved it with his stick. Then Malaysia doubled the lead with a goal from Ashran Hamsani in the 37th minute. Malaysia ended the third quarter with a 2-0 lead. In the 59th minute, Shello Silverius executed a superb field goal to make it 3-0 for Malaysia. Japan secured their first goal of the match in the last minute, thanks to Niwa Takuma Malaysia is at the top with three wins and a loss in four matches, with nine points. Japan is fifth with two points, having drawn two and lost two matches. In the next match, Pakistan took on China. In the first quarter, Pakistan created plenty of chances to score but missed all. The first quarter ended goalless despite efforts from Abdul Rana, Muhammad Khan and Rehman. In the second quarter, Pakistan took the lead in the 20th minute with a superb strike from Muhammad Khan, who unleashed a deadly drag flick to the delight of his fans. Pakistan ended half-time with a 1-0 lead over China. In the third quarter, China successfully converted a penalty corner and Jisheng Gao hit the equaliser with a ferocious drag-flick. Just six minutes later however, Pakistan took back the lead, with Afraz placing the ball comfortably into the net after Umar Bhutta and Rana made some great moves inside the circle. Pakistan reached the final quarter with a 2-1 lead. Pakistan ended the final quarter with the same scoreline, climbing to the fourth spot with one win, two draws and a loss in four matches and a total of five points. China is at the bottom with one draw and three losses. They have earned just one point. In the final match of the day, India is taking on defending champions South Korea. (ANI)
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