The defining matches were resumed on January 11, which will determine who will advance to the finals and who will play for the remaining places.
Sri Lanka 3 vs Indonesia 3 (5-4 SO)
The first match of the day would be between Sri Lanka and Indonesia who were playing to define their pass to the match to play for the 7/8th Place or the 5/6th Place.
The team led by RATNAM wanted to crown their position in the tournament by winning this match, and how hard they fought to get good results. Indonesia on the other hand had obtained only one point in the tournament and would also be looking to redeem themselves in a match that could put them in a better position for the end of the tournament.
The team in white managed to score three goals in a row in the first quarter of the match, trying to impose itself against an opponent that was not going to stop fighting until the end. The first goal was scored after 5 minutes of play by BANDARA Pramod from a penalty corner. One minute later, the same player scored another goal from a penalty corner to make it 2-0. Two minutes after converting 2 goals, Sri Lanka did not stop stepping on the gas and after 8 minutes GIRABEWATTE Radun put the 3-0 to feel stronger and take the match with the result on their side.
It seemed that the men in white could not find the ball in the circle, they struggled to finish the attacking plays, but they did not give up and it was from the third quarter that they stole the command from Sri Lanka converting the first goal at 31 minutes to make it 3-1 with a goal by SAHHAL Abdul. With more energy and trying to have possession of the ball at 45 minutes Indonesia got a penalty stroke converted by STENLEY Djeuwisd to make it 3-2 and get closer to the tie.
Sri Lanka on their side tried to stem the tide to not allow them to tie the game, but the game would continue to surprise us, allowing Indonesia to convert in the last minute of play to take the game to the shoot-out with a goal by WIBOWO Arthur.
With the final score at 3-3 it went to the shoot-out defining the match in front of the 3 posts.
Sri Lanka missed only one of the shoot-outs while Indonesia missed 2. The winner finally was Sri Lanka who will play for the 5/6th Place, while the white team will play for the 7/8th Place.
The best player of the match was STENLEY Djeuwisd who had a spectacular match and helped his team to tie the match with a goal.
Chinese Taipei 6 vs Hong Kong China 3
The second match for the 7/8th Place or the 5/6th Place was between Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong China, two teams that managed to score few points in this championship but would seek to finish in the best possible position.
In the beginning of the match the control seemed to be in possession of the red team, having the ball in attacks and plays for the spaces to be able to break the blue defense that did not allow Chinese Taipei to advance. It was not until the 21st minute that SHIH Chung-Po broke the deadlock and from then on a cataract of goals would come. Between the first and the second half of the match the team led by LIN Min Nan scored 3 more goals, Lin Yu-Sheng minute 23, SHIH Chung-Po minute 34 and LI, CHI-HSUAN minute 38, with the 4-0 partial score the red team felt empowered and with a superiority that nobody seemed to be able to stop.
In the 41st minute came the discount for the blue team with a goal from a penalty corner by McNEIL Cameron.
Chinese Taipei converted again in the 49th minute with a goal by SHIH Chung-Po in the 49th minute to extend the lead to 5-1.
The blue team managed to convert 2 more goals, one in the 54th minute converted by POON Chun Ngong and another in the last minute of the match LEUNG Hamish converted the third and final goal. While in the 56th minute SHIH Chung-Po scored goal number 6 for Chinese Taipei.
The final score ended in 6-3 for the red team who took the victory and will play against Sri Lanka for the 5/6th Place, while Indonesia will play against Hong Kong China for the 7/8th Place.
The best player of the match was SHIH Chung-Po, captain, and star of this young team.
A special certificate was presented to the Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong China goalkeepers sponsored by OBO, honoring their participation in Men’s AHF Cup 2023.
A Certificate of Participation in the Tournament was also presented to both Junior National Teams.
Bangladesh 3 vs Thailand 0
The first match that would define one of the participants in the final was between Bangladesh and Thailand.
Bangladesh finished first in Pool B with 9 points having won all the matches played, while Thailand had 4 points with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. Although the favoritism for the results so far was for Bangladesh, Thailand had shown a lot of personality on the field, and a team with a lot of attitudes willing to give everything to reach the final considering that it would be their first time to do so.
The control of the match was mainly in the hands of Bangladesh, having total possession of the ball, with some interventions and arrivals of the team led by KIM Kyung Soo.
Although the goals did not come in the first quarters, there was an offensive attack by Bangladesh, which had several entries to the circle, but none of them were able to score. On the other hand, the team in white tried to defend in an orderly manner in order not to give spaces to the team led by RASHED Mamun who tried by all means to score the first goal of the match and take the lead to go to the final.
The goals came in the second half of the match, the first one in the 48th minute with a shot by JIBON Md. that put the team 1-0 ahead.
In the 56th minute HOSSAIN Md made it 2-0 with a penalty corner to give his team peace of mind and the confidence they needed in the result just minutes before the end of the match. 2 minutes later, in the 58th minute of the match HASAN Md made the final score 3-0 to secure a place in the final, while Thailand will play for the 3/4th Place.
If there were no more goals in the match, it was thanks to the excellent performance of the Thai goalkeeper, PHOSAWANG Wistawas who won the best player of the match award.
A special certificate was presented to the Thailand and Bangladesh goalkeepers sponsored by OBO, honoring their participation in Men’s AHF Cup 2023. Both teams also get the Certificate of Participation in the Tournament.
Oman 4 vs Uzbekistan 0
The last match of the day would be between the home team and Uzbekistan in the dispute for a new pass to the Men’s Junior AHF Cup final.
Oman was another of the teams with perfect results, having 9 points in Pool A while the Uzbek team finished with 6 points in Pool B.
Nerves were high for both teams, understanding that Oman is at home and that could give them a little more confidence. Uzbekistan would be looking to dethrone Oman from a third consecutive final in this tournament.
The match opened quite quickly as 9 minutes into the game BAIT Hussam made it 1-0 and Oman could play with more tranquility. On the other hand, the team coached by ISMAILOV Enver would try to neutralize the opponent’s attacks to avoid many more goals and take advantage of any opportunity to counter attack.
BARAZAHAN Asama, the captain and leader of this team had no problem to put the team on his shoulder and score two consecutive goals, one in the 21st minute and the other in the 35th minute from a penalty corner to make it 3-0.
The Uzbek team tried to shorten the goal difference but without success, the score remained at 0, until the team led by AL RAISI Khalid advanced in the match by scoring two goals, one in the 45th minute by AL-NOUFALI Aliyas and the other in the 53rd minute by MADIT Aiman to make the final score 5-0 by penalty stroke.
With this result Oman reached its third consecutive final where it will play against Bangladesh, while Uzbekistan will play against Thailand for the 3/4th place.
