Defending Olympic champion Australia and South Korea have qualified for the finals of the Sultan Azlan Shah men's field hockey tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Australians beat India, 1-0, Friday, giving them 14 points from six matches and the top spot in the seven-nation tournament. South Korea edged South Africa, 3-2, and had 13 points from six matches.
The South Koreans got some help from host country Malaysia, which upset Pakistan, 1-0.
Malaysian team captain Kuhan Shanmuganathan scored the only goal of the game in the 40th minute. The win was Malaysia's first over Pakistan, which has won this tournament three times and finished with 13 points.
Malaysia's victory gave South Korea second place in the standings because of a better goal differential than Pakistan.
Many of these teams are fielding untested player combinations as they prepare their rosters for next year's field hockey World Cup in Germany. India has already qualified, while Australia, New Zealand and South Africa hope to secure berths later this year in continental qualifying. Malaysia, South Korea and Pakistan will compete later this year in World Cup qualifying.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
