Rajgir (Bihar), Aug 29 (IANS) Malaysia and defending champions South Korea opened their Pool B campaigns with comfortable wins in the men’s Asia Cup hockey tournament on Friday, though in contrasting styles at the international hockey stadium here.

World No. 12 Malaysia were given an early scare before recovering to beat 29th-ranked Bangladesh 4-1, while holders Korea brushed aside Chinese Taipei 7-0 in a one-sided contest.

Bangladesh struck first against the run of play in the 16th minute when Ashraful Islam converted a penalty corner. The underdogs’ lead, however, lasted only until the 25th minute as Ashran Hamsani restored parity with a fine field goal.

After the break, Malaysia shifted gears. Akhimullah Anuar (36’) gave them the lead, before Muhajir Abdul Rauf (48’) and Syed Cholan (54’, penalty corner) extended the margin to secure three points. Malaysia converted one of their four penalty corners, while Bangladesh found the net from one of their two.

Later, South Korea produced a ruthless display to underline their title credentials. Dain Son led the charge with a hat-trick (17’, 29’, 58’), while Jihun Yang scored twice from penalty corners (27’, 50’).

Seyong Oh (53’) and Yoonho Kong (54’) added further gloss to the scoreline before Son completed his treble in the closing minutes as Korea sealed a 7-0 rout.

The results set up an enticing clash between Malaysia and Korea on Saturday, which could decide the pecking order in Pool B. Bangladesh will look to bounce back when they face Chinese Taipei earlier in the day.

In Pool A matches on Friday, Japan take on Kazakhstan while India play China in the final game of the day.

The Asia Cup doubles up as a qualifying event for the 2026 FIH World Cup, to be co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands from August 14–30.

–IANS

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