Ashran Hamsani emerged the saviour with his equaliser in the second half, denying South Korea the chance to avenge their 5-4 loss to the Speedy Tigers in a Group B match on Tuesday.

At the Gelora Bung Karno Hockey Stadium today, Group B champions Malaysia went 1-0 up through a third-minute penalty corner goal by defensive stalwart Razie Rahim.

However, the Malaysians’ joy was shortlived as Lee Nam-yong made it 1-1, also through a penalty corner in the 12th minute before Jeong Jun-woo put the South Koreans 2-1 ahead with a 21st minute field goal.

Arul Selvaraj’s men then continued to pound the South Korean goalmouth and finally got the deserved equaliser when Ashran capitalised on a defensive lapse to score a field goal in the 40th minute.

Arul said: “The players put in a huge effort in terms of positioning and ballhandling, but I’m disappointed we gave away a silly penalty corner that led to the South Koreans drawing level 1-1.”

Malaysia, who have qualified for World Cup 2023 after advancing to the Super 4, meet India tomorrow before wrapping up their round-robin fixtures against Japan on Tuesday.

The top two in the Super 4 competition will then vie for the Asia Cup trophy in the final on June 1.