India lose to Malaysia, crash out of HWL Semi-Final

Fancied India crashed out of the Hockey World League Semi-Final after suffering a shocking 2-3 defeat at the hands of Malaysia in a quarter-final match in London on Thursday.

It was hard-fought encounter as both the teams played with great intensity. The Indians only had themselves to blame as a below-par opening 20 minutes and some sloppy defending ruined their hopes.

India conceded as many as seven penalty corners, three of which were converted by Malaysia through Razie Rahim (19th, 48th minutes) and Tengku Tajuddin.

India's goals came from the sticks of Ramandeep Singh (24th, 26th).

By virtue of this win, Malaysia have qualified for next year's World Cup to be held in India.

For India, it is their second defeat against Malaysia in little less than two months. Roelant Oltmans' men had earlier lost 0-1 to the same opponents in the Azlan Shah Cup last month.

Malaysia will face reigning Olympic champions and world number one Argentina in Saturday's semi-final.

Argentina had earlier in the day defeated Pakistan in the first quarter-final match.