<p>Korea dashed Malaysia's hopes of a maiden Hero Asia Cup trophy as they reigned supreme with a thrilling 2-1 final victory here at the GBK Sports Arena on Wednesday.</p>.<p>This is the fifth time the Korean side have lifted the prestigious trophy. They have won the title in 1994, 1999, 2009 and 2013.</p>.<p>Having won the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in December last year, Korea looked like a confident bunch going into the final, a place they earned by pipping India in a 3-3 draw on Tuesday. The team, with experienced players, recovered well in time to put up a grand fight against the Malaysian unit who looked poised to win the title race, not having lost a single match in the tournament.</p>.<p>After a goalless first quarter, Korea put Malaysia under the pump with a splendid field goal in the 17th minute. The 1-0 lead certainly put pressure on Malaysia who struggled to find their zing in converting chances.</p>.<p>They managed an equalizer in the 25th minute through Syed Cholan that brought some respite in the Malaysian dug out but Korea, who had draw against India 4-4 in a high scoring match, worked their strategy to continue to put pressure on the Malaysian defence.</p>.<p>Though the third quarter went goalless, the Korea team's turning point of the match came in the 52nd minute when they scored a quickfire field goal off a fantastic counter attack set up after Malaysia failed to convert back-to-back PCs.</p>.<p>Malaysia created plenty of opportunities to score in the dying minutes of the match, one such opportunity came when Faizal Saari took a shot on goal but Korean goalkeeper was on target to make a fine save.</p>.<p>The Korean defence, one of the best in Asian hockey, lived up to the billing and defended the scoreline. Though they found an opportunity to extend the lead to 3-1 when they were awarded the penalty stroke, the chance went missing with Malaysian goalie stopping the ?attempt by Jang Jonghyun.</p>.<p>Earlier in the day, India beat Japan 1-0 to win Bronze while Pakistan finish fifth in the tournament after 8-0 win against Bangladesh.</p>.<p>Hero Player of the Match was awarded to Jang Jonghyun, who completed his 300 international matches for Korea today.</p>.<p><strong>Awards:</strong></p>.<p>Hero Top scorer of the tournament was Razie Rahim of Malaysia who scored 13 goals</p>.<p>OBO Promising Goal Keeper of the Tournament Akmal Hussain of Pakistan</p>.<p>OBO Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament Takashi Yoshikawa of Japan</p>.<p>Rising Star of the Tournament India's Uttam Singh</p>.<p>Hero Best Player of the Tournament Jang Jonghyun of Korea, Man of the match</p>.<p><strong>Special recognition:</strong></p>.<p>AHF Athlete Ambassador : SV Sunil of India</p>.<p>AHF Athlete Ambassador: Razie Rahim of Malaysia</p>.<p>AHF Athlete Ambassador: Mubashar Ali of Pakista</p>
<p>Korea dashed Malaysia's hopes of a maiden Hero Asia Cup trophy as they reigned supreme with a thrilling 2-1 final victory here at the GBK Sports Arena on Wednesday.</p>.<p>This is the fifth time the Korean side have lifted the prestigious trophy. They have won the title in 1994, 1999, 2009 and 2013.</p>.<p>Having won the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in December last year, Korea looked like a confident bunch going into the final, a place they earned by pipping India in a 3-3 draw on Tuesday. The team, with experienced players, recovered well in time to put up a grand fight against the Malaysian unit who looked poised to win the title race, not having lost a single match in the tournament.</p>.<p>After a goalless first quarter, Korea put Malaysia under the pump with a splendid field goal in the 17th minute. The 1-0 lead certainly put pressure on Malaysia who struggled to find their zing in converting chances.</p>.<p>They managed an equalizer in the 25th minute through Syed Cholan that brought some respite in the Malaysian dug out but Korea, who had draw against India 4-4 in a high scoring match, worked their strategy to continue to put pressure on the Malaysian defence.</p>.<p>Though the third quarter went goalless, the Korea team's turning point of the match came in the 52nd minute when they scored a quickfire field goal off a fantastic counter attack set up after Malaysia failed to convert back-to-back PCs.</p>.<p>Malaysia created plenty of opportunities to score in the dying minutes of the match, one such opportunity came when Faizal Saari took a shot on goal but Korean goalkeeper was on target to make a fine save.</p>.<p>The Korean defence, one of the best in Asian hockey, lived up to the billing and defended the scoreline. Though they found an opportunity to extend the lead to 3-1 when they were awarded the penalty stroke, the chance went missing with Malaysian goalie stopping the ?attempt by Jang Jonghyun.</p>.<p>Earlier in the day, India beat Japan 1-0 to win Bronze while Pakistan finish fifth in the tournament after 8-0 win against Bangladesh.</p>.<p>Hero Player of the Match was awarded to Jang Jonghyun, who completed his 300 international matches for Korea today.</p>.<p><strong>Awards:</strong></p>.<p>Hero Top scorer of the tournament was Razie Rahim of Malaysia who scored 13 goals</p>.<p>OBO Promising Goal Keeper of the Tournament Akmal Hussain of Pakistan</p>.<p>OBO Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament Takashi Yoshikawa of Japan</p>.<p>Rising Star of the Tournament India's Uttam Singh</p>.<p>Hero Best Player of the Tournament Jang Jonghyun of Korea, Man of the match</p>.<p><strong>Special recognition:</strong></p>.<p>AHF Athlete Ambassador : SV Sunil of India</p>.<p>AHF Athlete Ambassador: Razie Rahim of Malaysia</p>.<p>AHF Athlete Ambassador: Mubashar Ali of Pakista</p>