KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia went down for the third time in the Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC), and today it was a 3-1 defeat to South Africa at the Taman Daya Stadium.
It was never Malaysia's game, as Calvin Davis scored in the 23rd minute, and the best moment of the match was when Amirul Haniff Mamat equalised with a strong penalty corner drive a minute later.
But mistakes crept into Malaysia's game, and Marvin Simons (35th) and Cameron Forestier (53rd) punished the hosts at will.
"In all three matches we lost out in the third and fourth quarters as fitness is not our strength yet. After this tournament, I will concentrate, for the next three months, in building a team that can last for 60 minutes," said Malaysia coach Amin Rahim.
"And towards the 2023 Junior World Cup, this team will play at least 40-50 matches against teams in Oceania and Europe to get the best out of them."
India bounced back from a shock defeat to South Africa to hammer Japan 5-1 in the second match of the day.
India coach C.R. Kumar said the SoJC is a world class junior invitational to which they always look forward.
"The SoJC has always brought out the best in junior teams and South Africa had their day against us (winning 5-4) but it made my team's resolve much stronger.
"Against Japan, I expected a tougher battle but when we scored early, my players took control of the match and had a good outing. We have brought 18 players who are eligible to play in the 2023 World Cup in Malaysia and the SoJC is a good platform for my players to learn and grow stronger," he said.
The India goals were scored by Uttam Singh (third), Rohit (12th), Johnson Purty (21st), Boby Singh (31st) and Amandeep Lakra (51st). Ikumi Saeki scored for Japan in the 15th minute.
RESULTS: Britain 1 Australia 3, Japan 1 India 5, Malaysia 1 South Africa 3.