Iran, Kazakhstan to square off in Asia Cup final

Six-time champions Iran demolished Uzbekistan 12-2 while Kazakhstan edged out hosts Qatar 5-4 in a thrilling battle to enter the final of Indoor Asia Cup Hockey Championship at Aspire Dome, yesterday.
It was a 37th minute goal by Kazakhstan, which separated them from the hosts who gave them a run for money, in the nail-biting second semi-final.
Kazakhstan took lead first in the third minute with hosts making it 1-1 three minutes later. Four minutes later, it was Qatar’s turn to take the lead which was leveled by Kazakhstan in the 13th minute.
Kazakhstan, scored another goal in the 15th minute to go into the second half with a 3-2 advantage. They never let Qatar take the lead after doubling the advantage in second minute of the final session.
Qatar however, scored goals in 31st and 34th minutes to make things even before Kazakhstan found the winner.
Qatar still have a chance to achieve their best result in the tournament’s history as they will meet Uzbekistan for third position match today. Qatar’s best performance came in the last edition in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan, two years ago when they finished fourth.
Meanwhile, in the first semi-final, Iran who are yet to be conquered in the tournament, outclassed Uzbekistan in both the halves to walk into their seventh consecutive final.
Uzbekistan, though scored the goal first in the 7th minute after a slow start to the match, Iran never looked back and scored goals on short intervals to pile pressure on the opposition. They were leading 6-1 in the first half and added another six in the final session. Uzbekistan also scored a consolation goal in the second half.
Earlier, Malaysia and Oman recorded victories in classification matches for 5th to 8th places.
The Malaysians, who were knocked out by Qatar from the semi-finals race on Wednesday, prevailed over Chinese Taipei 9-3 in a one-sided match.
Oman looked impressive as they dominated Thailand, eventually defeating their counterparts with a 5-3 score-line. Both Oman and Malaysia will fight out for the 5th position.
In the six-nation women’s competition, which is running simultaneously with the men’s event at the same venue, defending champions Kazakhstan and Malaysia qualified for the final after claiming the top two spots, following the league phase which concluded yesterday.
Kazakhstan first thrashed Malaysia 4-2 and then shared spoils with Uzbekistan following a 2-2 draw in their last match, to continue their unbeaten run in the tournament. They finished on top with 13 points from 5 matches.
In what turned out to be a virtual semi-final, Malaysia clinched a narrow 2-1 win over Thailand in a slow-paced game. Both the teams were locked 0-0 at half-time. Malaysia finished second with 10 points while Thailand who ended the league phase on third spot will meet Peoples Republic of Korea to retain their position, in a classification match today.      
The Peoples Republic of Korea sealed fourth position after a 13-0 rout over China in their last game. China who have lost all their five matches will face Uzbekistan to avoid the wooden spoon.