Malaysia Beat South Korea 5–2 to Win Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Bronze
Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal scored twice in five minutes as Malaysia secured a medal in Mohali after losing to Japan in the semi-final.
Malaysia won bronze at the men's Asian Champions Trophy on Thursday, coming from behind to beat South Korea 5–2 in Mohali, India. Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal scored twice in five minutes to break a 2–2 tie before captain Marhan Jalil added Malaysia's fifth goal.
The result gave Malaysia a medal a day after Japan denied the team a place in the final. The Hockey India results record the bronze match in Mohali, where hosts India went on to beat Japan 4–1 in the final.
Malaysia score four unanswered goals
Fitri Saari opened the scoring from open play in the second minute. South Korea equalized three minutes later when Park Geun-woo converted a penalty corner. Chun Se-min put South Korea ahead in the 13th minute with a field goal. That 2–1 lead held through the rest of the first half.
Faizal Saari pulled Malaysia level with a penalty corner in the 34th minute. Azrai restored the lead with a field goal in the 45th minute and scored again in the 50th. Both of Azrai's goals came in open play. Marhan converted another penalty corner in the 58th minute. The match sequence is recorded by the International Hockey Federation and in RTM's match report.
Three of Malaysia's five goals came from open play and two from penalty corners. South Korea also scored both ways, but its goals came in the first quarter. Malaysia's equalizer was the only goal of the third quarter until Azrai put the team ahead in its final minute. The remaining two Malaysian goals came in the fourth quarter.
A second win over South Korea
The teams had already played in the round robin in Jalandhar, where Malaysia won 3–1 on Oct. 29. Malaysia opened that stage with a 5–4 win over China and also beat Bangladesh 6–1. The team lost 4–2 to India and 2–1 to Japan before the tournament moved into its placement and medal matches.
Malaysia faced Japan again in the semifinal in Mohali on Wednesday. That match ended 0–0 in regulation before Japan won the shootout 5–3. India beat South Korea 8–1 in the other semifinal. That set up a rematch for bronze between two teams that had scored in every round-robin game except South Korea's loss to India.
Malaysia had finished sixth at the previous edition in Hulunbuir, China, in 2024, according to Bernama. Its best result remains the silver medal it won in 2023, when it lost to India in the final, The Star reported. This year's bronze put Malaysia behind the same two opponents it lost to in the round robin, India and Japan, and ahead of South Korea, China and Bangladesh in the six-team tournament.
The teams are scheduled to meet again on Nov. 20 in Ipoh, Perak, according to the International Hockey Federation's fixture list. Their next game is in the round robin of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, an invitational tournament that runs through Nov. 28. It will be played at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium. The federation's head-to-head record also lists a 2–1 Malaysia win at the Asian Games on Oct. 1. South Korea won 4–3 when the teams met in the 2025 edition of the Ipoh tournament.
Australia, Canada, Pakistan and the United States are also listed in the six-team Ipoh field. The Nov. 20 match is therefore the next opportunity for Malaysia to face South Korea, this time at home and in a different competition.
