Updated on
Summary Pakistan and Malaysia will be facing each other in Junior Asia Cup final at Malacca today.
The imbalance is glaring, and even the last time Malaysia played in the final was 20 years ago in Ipoh, where they lost 3-0 to Pakistan.Pakistan won the first edition in 1987 on home soil, in 1992 in Ipoh and 1996 in Singapore.However, this set of Malaysian players have shown tremendous potential, and their almost flawless attacking hockey has only been marred by their habit of missing sitters.We have everything going for us, except that I have yet to get the best out of three players. Hopefully they perform in the final, said Malaysian coach K. Dharmaraj.Fitri Saari, Izzat Sumantri and Ramadhan Rosli were in their element in the Sultan of Johor Cup, but have been in the shadows in Malacca.As for Pakistan, the most feared in their pack is Umar Bhutta, who is only 20, but already has 38 senior caps.Umar was named as the best player in the Under-18 AHF Cup in 2009 and has played in two Azlan Shah Cups as well as the Champions Trophy.He was the crucial cog in demolishing South Korea (6-1 in the semi-finals) and will have to be marked out to make sure the title lands in our hands, said Dharmaraj.Pakistan coach Rana Mujahid feels Malaysia are strong but not invincible.We have respect for the hosts, but I believe we will win our fourth title going by the performance of the team in the semi-finals. They played total hockey, with very little pressure on their shoulders, and thats how it is going to be against Malaysia in the final, said Rana.
