KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3: Pakistan’s hopes for a spot in the final were severely dented here on Monday when they were held 2-2 by a fighting Malaysia, earning the hosts their first point of the eight-nation Champions Trophy.

In another crucial game, Asia’s number-one side Korea scored a major upset by dumping hot favourites the Netherlands 6-2 in a shock defeat for the European champions.

Meanwhile, World champions Germany remained the only unbeaten team at the Kuala Lumpur tournament with a stylish 4-1 rout over Spain.

And world number one and reigning Olympic champions Australia kept themselves in the chase for a place in the finals when they edged out arch-rivals Britain 1-0.

Pakistan went ahead with goals from Akhtar Ali in the 19th minute and Ghazanfar

Ali in the 35th, but Malaysia powered past the former world champions in the last 20 minutes of the match and replied through veterans Chua Boon Huat and M. Jiwa Mohan.

Huat Chua converted a penalty corner and Jiwa Mohan equalized for the host to earn its first point through four games.

Pakistan team manager Zakauddin Khawaja said he was not disappointed with his team’s performance despite the fact they seem to have lost their chance to make the finals.“It looks difficult (the chances for final) but we cannot give up. We must try to win our remaining matches,” he said, blaming inexperience for the loss.

The headline match of the day, however, saw Korea put in a commanding performance, against the Dutch who though unbeaten in their last three matches finally wilted in the late afternoon heat, allowing the Koreans to score four times in the last nine minutes.

The Netherlands started the match well enough when they went ahead through Wouter Hermkens in the 23rd minute but failed to take several clear chances after that.

Korea banged in the equalizer from a penalty from Jang Jong-hyun in the 34th and at halftime it was 1-1.

It was action all the way after the break. The Dutch took the lead again through Maathijs Brouwer in the 36th, but Korea again came back to even the score through Kim Sam-seok in the 56th.

After that, it was all Korea as they overran their opponents, with a hat trick from Jang and more goals from Lee Nam-yong and Kim Joung-go.

“We played okay in the first half but the players could not recover from fatigue in the second,” said Dutch coach Roelant Oltmants, who complained they had had to play too many matches in the humid afternoon slot.

“From 2-3 down, we just could not find our way back. We just did not have enough energy to create chances after that. But is a good lesson for us, everybody is disappointed but we will recover.”

Korean coach Cho Sung-jun was elated with the win and said it was a fantastic result for the side since they had also beaten the Dutch 3-2 in last year’s World Cup in Germany.

“We have beaten them twice before but never before by such a big score. We have done a very good job with the stronger teams here and we must keep it up against Pakistan, Malaysia and Britain in our remaining matches,” said Cho.

His top scorer Jang Jong-hyun said he was confident Korea can beat all comers in Kuala Lumpur and make the final for the first time since they entered the tournament a decade ago.

“We want to do well here and after beating Holland, we believe we can go all the way to the final,” he said.—AFP