In this World Cup, Australia lost their opening game to England (2-3) but came back to beat India (5-2) and South Africa (12-0), while Spain beat South Africa (4-2) and India (5-2) but lost to Pakistan (1-2).
The game started under the Delhi blaring afternoon sun, but it did not seem to bother the Kookaburras who spent the first ten minutes peppering the Spanish goal. Grant SCHUBERT had a superb opportunity alone in front of the goal but lost the ball in his feet. Spain earned a penalty corner on their first counter-attack in the 7th minute, after intervention of the video-umpire, but the powerful high flick was wonderfully saved on the line by Kiel BROWN.
Both teams were keeping a tight marking in midfield and key players such as Jamie DWYER were kept under a close Spanish watch. Finally, Edward OCKENDEN forced a penalty-corner in the 20th minute and Luke DOERNER did not pass on the chance to open the scoring with a mid-height flick that beat Francisco CORTES in the Spanish goal. Spain scrambled two penalty-corners at the other end, then nearly scored when Eduard TUBAU stole a ball in midfield and arrived one-on-one with Nathan BURGERS, but the Australian keeper managed to push him aside enough for his shot to go off target.
Spain were given a penalty-corner in the dying seconds of the period, after another referral to the video-umpire, but it was saved again on the line, this time by Luke DOERNER, busy at both ends on penalty-corners. The Spaniards were saved by the post on a penalty-corner soon after the break, then scrambled two set pieces of their own. With time passing and the score still marginally in favor of the Kookaburras, Spain tried to push more but were repeatedly caught in the tight net thrown by the Australian midfield. Spain were also exposing more their defense to counter-attacks and Jamie DWYER ran 75m after stealing a ball; he set up perfectly Kieran GOVERS on the second post but the ball eluded him.
Spain picked up a yellow card on the play and were subsequently pushed back on their heels for a while and Glenn TURNER added a second goal for the Kookaburras in the 60th minute after a lengthy series of passes that mystified the Spaniards. Spain pushed in the final minutes, with Australia happy to just hit the ball up field. The Spaniards scrambled two more penalty-corner chances and Australia bagged the three points of the win, avenging in the process their loss against Spain in the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympic Games (2-3) and taking a serious option for a semi-final berth.
Match Facts (Australia v. Spain):
Glenn Turner (AUS) netted his fifth goal this tournament, to help Australia well on their way to a ninth successive WC semi-final berth.
Luke Doerner (AUS) is now on 6 (PC) goals at Delhi 2010, as is Taeke Taekema (NED).
The Australian record for most goals in a World Cup tournament is 12 by Ian Cooke in 1978 and Jay Stacy in 1998.
Ramon Alegre became the first Spanish player to be shown a yellow card this tournament.
Spain who were in the semi-finals in two of the last three WC tournaments (2006 and 1998) will find it extremely hard to reach the last four at Delhi 2010 with six points from four matches.
Spain failed to convert any of the eight PCs awarded to them in this match.
Game 20 – South Africa v. Pakistan: 4-3 (half-time: 0-1)
South Africa was up to a difficult task in the second match of the day. Having lost their first three encounters against Spain, England and Australia, they were pitted against a Pakistani team with their backs to the wall after losing severely to India (1-4) on opening day then to England (2-5). As in their first two games, South Africa nearly opened the scoring on a penalty-corner in the second minute of play, but it was Rehan BUTT who emerged from a wild scrum in front of Erasmus PIETERSE to score the first goal in the 6th minute.
Oddly, the Green Shirts seemed satisfied with the meagre lead and played at half-pace for a while, trying to show their individual skills but repeatedly losing the balls on unforced errors. South Africa boldly took their chances upfront and defended well a few penalty-corners, including a Sohail ABBAS low flick that went to video-umpiring referral for confirmation of the call then invalidation of the goal.
Taine PATON exposed the porosity of the Pakistani defense in the 31st minute, stealing a ball outside the 25m and running unchallenged before sending high in the stands his shot, that had Salman AKBAR stranded. South Africa had a long period of domination, dictating the pace to a Pakistani team definitely unimpressive. The final minutes of the period were all South Africa and the Green Shirts were clearly happy to pass the ball around to count down the clock and go into the break with their scanty one-goal lead.
South Africa picked up the game where they had left it, forcing a penalty-corner in the 38th minute and scoring by Gareth CARR after a well executed combination that sent the Pakistani runners in no-man’s-land. The crowd, now happy to support the underdog against the Pakistani neighbours, had more reason to erupt in wild cheers when Ian HALEY batted the ball into the empty goal after the shot from Thornton McDADE was deflected high up in the air by Salman AKBAR. Incredibly, South Africa added another goal shortly after by Taine PATON, taking advantage of a completely disoriented Pakistani defense gasping for air.
The rout continued in the 54th minute, when Salman AKBAR saw Marvin HARPER arrive alone in front of him and propel a missile in net. 4-1 for South Africa and twelve minutes to go! The South Africans (and the gamblers) in the crowd would certainly not have dreamed such a scenario one hour before. South Africa, on the verge of an historic feat, were now fighting with tooth and nail to defend their lead against Pakistani players who had lost all concept of team play.
Erasmus PIETERSE stood tall in goal to thwart some desperate final assaults. Muhammad IMRAN and Waseem AHMED scored on penalty-corners, including one that needed to be taken three times with no time on the clock, but it was too little too late and the Green Shirts left the pitch dejected while the African Champions enjoyed a deserved standing ovation from the capacity crowd.
Match Facts (South Africa v. Pakistan):
South Africa beat Pakistan 4-3 to end their 10-match winless streak in World Cup competition.
This is South Africa’s first WC win since 2002 when they beat Belgium 5-4 in the match for 13th place.
South Africa join Pakistan on three points in Pool B. India are also on three points but they are still to play England tonight.
Game 21 – England v. India: 3-2 (half-time: 1-0)
The marquis match of the day opposed England, still unbeaten in the competition after wins over Australia (3-2), South Africa (6-4) and Pakistan (5-2), to a an Indian outfit that gave hope to their whole country when they opened the World Cup with a decisive victory over arch-rivals Pakistan (4-1), only to fall to Australia (2-5) and Spain (2-5). The pundits were divided in the approach to take (more individual runs? More dribbles one-on-one? More passes?) but the crowd certainly did not worry about these technicalities and was cheering unconditionally for their heroes.
The first chance was for Sandeep SINGH on penalty-corner but his low flick did not fool the English runners. He has been harshly criticized by the powerful local media for his poor shows in defense and his inefficiency on penalty-corners, the main reason he is on the team. India committed the same basic defensive mistake as against Spain, leaving James TINDALL unmarked on the far post to quietly deflect a hard pass from Nick CATLIN in the 16th minute. Shivendra SINGH, back in the team after serving a two-game suspension for an incident against Pakistan, arrived on his own at the top of the circle, but English keeper James FAIR was waiting for him and showed his class by pushing the attacker aside until his retreating defenders could take charge of him.
Shivendra SINGH scrambled another chance a few minutes later, hurrying too much his shot. Meanwhile, the European Champions were playing their collective game with poise and speed, both in defense and counter-attack. They defended another penalty-corner successfully, this time with BHARAT officiating and they went into the break with a meager, but precious, one-goal lead.
Second period started in a corrida atmosphere, with feet stomping, flag waving, chanting, shouting and cheering. To its credit and unlike in other sports and other parts of the world, the crowd was supporting its team enthusiastically but without any jeering for the English opponents, although there was understandably little applause when Ashley JACKSON, officiating in replacement of injured Richard MANTELL, slotted a penalty-corner out of reach of Adrian D'SOUZA in the 42nd minute.
Rajpal SINGH and Sarvanjit SINGH tried to save the nation with deep solitary runs, but England scored again in the 47th minute by Ashley JACKSON, increasing their lead to 3 goals. Pushed by the roaring crowd, the Indian forwards finally scored by Gurwinder Singh CHANDI deflecting from close range a hard cross from the right wing, then shortly after by Rajpal SINGH on the post to collect the ball at the conclusion of a superb Asian style counter-attack that started with a save by their keeper D'SOUZA.
The last ten minutes promised to be pure hell for England, with the whole Indian team in attack and the crowd acting as twelfth and even thirteenth player. England fought fiercely on every ball and managed to maintain their structure and strict individual marking. They got a reprieve when Sardar SINGH was showed a yellow card for a nasty tackle on Ashley JACKSON. The Indians were becoming totally desperate and unnecessarily rough and lost Gurbaj SINGH on another yellow card but nevertheless nearly equalized in the dying seconds of the match by Rajpal SINGH, missing a deflection tantalizingly close to the far post.
Match Facts (England v. India):
England beat India 3-2 to become the first team at Delhi 2010 to qualify for the semi-finals.
England have reached the semi-finals for the second time and for the first time since 1986 when they finished runners-up to Australia.
England have now won their last 7 WC matches.
Ashley Jackson’s 42nd minute PC goals marked the 150th goal for England in World Cup competition.
Jackson has now scored in each of England’s four matches at Delhi 2010.
India (-4), Pakistan (-6) and South Africa (-15) are all on three points from four matches, with one match to go in Pool B.
The Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 continues on Sunday in Delhi when Korea face Canada, New Zealand meet Argentina and Germany conclude the day against The Netherlands.
For additional information, pictures, video clips, official game sheets, and more, please check the special FIH event site @ http://www.worldhockey.org/worldcup/.
Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 (men) – Delhi, India
Results Day 7 - Saturday 6 March 2010
Australia v. Spain 2:0 (1:0)
AUS 20mn Luke DOERNER (PC) 1:0
AUS 60mn Glenn TURNER (FG) 2:0
South Africa v. Pakistan 4:3 (0:1)
PAK 6mn Rehan BUTT (FG) 0:1
RSA 38mn Gareth CARR (PC) 1:1
RSA 41mn Ian HALEY (FG) 2:1
RSA 46mn Taine PATON (FG) 3:1
RSA 54mn Marvin HARPER (FG) 4:1
PAK 68mn Muhammad IMRAN (PC) 4:2
PAK 70+mn Waseem AHMED (PC) 4:3
England v. India 3:2 (1:0)
ENG 16mn James TINDALL (FG) 1:0
ENG 42mn Ashley JACKSON (PC) 2:0
ENG 47mn Ashley JACKSON (FG) 3:0
IND 54mn Gurwinder Singh CHANDI (FG) 3:1
IND 57mn Rajpal SINGH (FG) 3:2
Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1) Netherlands 9 pts 2) Germany 7 pts 3) New Zealand 6 pts 4) Korea 4pts 5) Argentina 0 pt (-5) 6) Canada 0 pt (-13)
Pool B: 1) England 12 pts 2) Australia 9 pts 3) Spain 6 pts 4) India 3 pts (-4) 5) Pakistan 3 pts (-6) 6) South Africa 3 pts (-1
Korea keep last-four hopes alive
Korea have kept their hopes of a World Cup semifinal berth alive with a 9-2 rout of Canada.
Korea are very much in semifinal contention after drubbing Canada 9-2 on Sunday at Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
Jong Hyun Jang scored a hat-trick while Hyo Sik You and Hyun Nam Woo netted two each. Nam Yong Lee and Sung Hoon Yoon also joined the party with a goal each to make sure Phillip Wright's brace for Canada was just a formality.
Korea were slow to get off the blocks and were happy to control the midfield. The 2009 Champions Trophy bronze medalists soon picked up pace and went ahead in the 23rd minute, when Nam scored off a penalty corner.
The Koreans, looking for their second win of the tournament, kept applying the pressure in search of a second. Their persistence finally paid off when Jang converted a penalty stroke late into the first half.
In stark contrast to the first half, the Koreans picked up early momentum after the breather. They scored thrice in the first six minutes to push the Canadians out of the game.
The first of these goals came in the 38th minute after Lee's shot was deflected in by a Canada defender. Yoon made it 4-0 in the 41st minute and Korea had a five-goal advantage in the very next minute, when You scored off a Jong Ho Seo cross.
Wright pulled a goal back for the North Americans in the 42nd minute, but Korea restored a five-goal advantage three minutes later. Jang flicked it into the Canadian net to score his second of the game.
The Koreans kept pushing forward in order to improve their goal difference but Wright reduced the deficit against the run of play, when he deflected in a Mark Pearson shot.
The Asian side attacked the hapless Canadians from both flanks and they made it 7-2 in the 61st minute, when Jang converted a penalty corner to complete his hat-trick.
Two minutes later You made a brilliant solo run down the right flank to heap more misery on the North Americans.
Nam scored his second goal of the match in the 67th minute to complete the rout for the Koreans.
The win leaves Korea in with a chance to make it to the semi-finals. Canada, who are yet to earn a point in this tournament, are already out of contention.
The Asians will be up against The Netherlands in their next game, while Canada take on Argentina on Tuesday.
Cricket News
Bat makers adopting new strategies
The indigenous bat manufacturers have now started joining hands with some of the foreign names to survive the competition.
Sitting in his small first floor office amid sounds of bats and hockey sticks being made in the factory downstairs, Kohli lamented that times have changed a lot and now the big brands like MRF and Reebok have left almost no place for them to promote their products.
"Recently we have tied up with three players of South Africa, including Hashim Amla, who are playing with our brand 'BAS'. Three West Indian cricketers have also agreed to use our bats," Kohli said.
Not only BAS, two other popular brands 'Renson' and 'PROTOS' have also roped in some of the Indian and foreign cricketers to use their bats.
While some of the Sri Lankan players are using 'RANSON' brand, Indian spinner Amit Mishra is using the bat branded with 'PROTOS', manufactured by city-based F C Sondhi and Company.
Most of the bats used in the Indian sub-continent and Zimbabwe are actually manufactured indigenously as in many places bat making is a small-scale industry.
Meanwhile, manufacturers like Ranson Sports Industry (RSI) are taking a three-pronged strategy to survive the competition and increase their business.
The company is shifting their base from the unorganised area in Jalandhar to a leather complex -? an area designated for manufacturers, and is also adding new machineries from England.
Besides, five international cricketers including West Indian Dale Richards and Sachith Shanaka of Sri Lanka have also been roped up by RSI to endorse the brand.
Brand logos like MRF, Britannia and Hero Honda are not only finding places on the bats of Indian players, but other cricket playing countries are also familiar to these names.
But there is no mention about the people who manufacture the bats, which are used by the star batsmen.
"It's wonderful to return to India"
There's going to be an extra buzz when the IPL is held in India, said KKR' owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
"There's always a buzz in playing here and it's a wonderful feeling. The feeling one gets playing in front of 100,000 people at the Eden Gardens is incomparable," said Shah Rukh at a function to announce his franchise's continued partnership with Nokia India.
On replacing coach John Buchanan with another Australian Dav Whatmore, he said that communication with the players was the former's problem in the first two years.
"Buchanan was a good coach but we all partners took the decision to replace him in the team's interest. Communication with the players was his problem due to the language or age factor," he said.
Shah Rukh was optimistic about the team's chances in season 3 after it performed miserbly in the first two years.
"We will try to win the trophy this year. We have lots of promises to keep," the cine star said.
He hoped the stand-off between IPL authorities and the electronic news media.
Tennis News
Hantuchova reaches Monterrey final
Daniela Hantuchova booked her place in the Monterrey Open final before rain arrived to wash out the rest of the day's scheduled action.
The former world number five, who is presently 24th in the WTA rankings, dropped the first set to her fellow Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova today but recovered to post a 4-6 6-3 6-0 victory.
Seeded second, Hantuchova has adopted the role of tournament favourite since Serbia's former world number one Jelena Jankovic made a first-round exit.
In the final she will play either 19-year-old Latvian Anastasija Sevastova - the player who knocked out Jankovic - or 18-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Sevastova and Pavlyuchenkova will play their semi-final tomorrow, ahead of the doubles final, with the singles final then closing the tournament.
United States keep hopes alive
USA kept their hopes of Davis Cup victory against Serbia alive with a crucial doubles win in the World Group tie in Belgrade.
That put the pressure on Sunday's rubber, and for once they could not rely on renowned pair Bob and Mike Bryan.
Mike was absent with food poisoning so Bob teamed up with 6ft 9in Isner against doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic and Janko Tipsarevic for the hosts.
In a very tight clash, the visitors came out on top in lengthy tie-breaks in the first and third sets and that ultimately proved crucial in a 7-6 (10/8) 5-7 7-6 (10/8) 6-3 victory.
Patrick McEnroe's team have been in the World Group since 1989 but they failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in four years last season and defeat tomorrow would send them into a relegation clash.
In contrast, France gave notice of their intent by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead against Germany in Toulon.
Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra wobbled in the third set against Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber but recovered to triumph 6-1 6-4 1-6 7-5.
Benneteau was making his Davis Cup debut, and Llodra paid tribute to his partner.
The 29-year-old told www.daviscup.com: "He's good. He has a good spirit, that's the most important thing. When you play doubles, you have to be strong on the court - Julien proved he's a good guy on the court and a nice guy."
France will play either defending champions Spain or Switzerland in the quarter-finals, and it was Albert Costa's team that gained the ascendancy today.
A shock looked on the cards when Stanislas Wawrinka beat Nicolas Almagro yesterday but David Ferrer levelled the tie and today Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo beat Yves Allegro and Wawrinka 7-6 (10/8) 6-2 4-6 6-4 in Logrono.
The title holders now only need to win one of tomorrow's singles rubbers to reach the last eight.
David Nalbandian's last-gasp trip to Stockholm paid dividends as Argentina opened up a 2-1 lead over Sweden.
The former Wimbledon finalist only flew in on Thursday night after looking set to miss the tie with a leg injury, and he teamed up with Horacio Zeballos for a 6-2 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/5) win over Robin Soderling and Robert Lindstedt.
It was Nalbandian's first appearance in the competition since the 2008 final.
The Czech Republic secured victory over Belgium without dropping a set as yesterday's singles winners Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek teamed up to defeat Steve Darcis and Olivier Rochus 7-6 (7/0) 6-0 6-3.
Croatia also wrapped things up against Ecuador with a day to spare in Varazdin. As they had in singles, Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic proved too strong for brothers Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti, winning 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 7-5.
India kept their hopes alive as top doubles players Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes easily saw off Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili and Igor Kunitsyn 6-3 6-2 6-2.
India must now win both tomorrow's singles clashes in Moscow to complete an unlikely turnaround.
In the final match between Chile and Israel, which was delayed by a day because of the massive earthquake in the South American country last week, Nicolas Massu gave the hosts a 1-0 lead with a 4-6 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory over Dudi Sela.
Fernando Gonzalez then put Chile firmly in control of the tie in Coquimbo, coming from a set down to beat Harel Levy 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Golf News
Villagas moves clear at Palm Beach
Camilo Villegas will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Honda Classic after maintaining his scoring with a 67.
Australia's Nathan Green shares second place with Vijay Singh on eight under, while American George McNeill equalled the best round of the day, 66, to join compatriot Matt Every at six under.
Villegas had shot back-to-back 66s on the first two days and continued his impressive form with birdies at the third, fourth, sixth and ninth on a blemish-free outward half.
He found it harder going after the turn, but counter-balanced bogeys at the 10th, 12th and 14th with birdies at 11 and 16 to give himself a more than useful cushion.
Kim's largely tidy round was ruined by two sets of miserable holes. Having birdied the third, he haemorrhaged three shots at the sixth and seventh with a double-bogey six followed by a bogey four.
Having regained his composure to birdie 11 and 13 and return to level par for his round, he then undid his good work by closing with three successive bogeys, including a horribly fluffed chip at the last, and is surely now out of the running at six shots back.
Green set off in great style with birdies at the first two holes and gained another shot at the seventh to make it an excellent front nine. A further birdie followed at 15 and his hitherto immaculate scorecard was only marred by a six at the par-five 18th.
Singh shrugged off the same fate as Kim at the sixth, a double bogey, and knocked in four birdies as a round of 69 left the Fijian well in contention.
Every failed to truly take advantage of his three birdies, scoring only one under, but McNeill made seven birdies to cancel out sixes at the sixth and 18th.
A nightmare back nine saw Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, nicely poised at five under at the start of the day, slip back after a 71. Out in 33, the Ryder Cup player dropped shots at 10 and 15 before a double-bogey at 16 and is a distant four under.
Two birdies in a solid if unspectacular round appeared to have boosted Englishman Paul Casey's challenge until a double-bogey five at the penultimate hole left him three under par, level with Swede Fredrik Jacobsen.
Rising star Rory McIlroy endured a terrible day, shooting five over, and only six players are now below him in the standings. He twice dropped shots on the front nine but came back to level par on each occasion - but bogeys at 14 and 17 sandwiched an horrendous six at the par-three 15th.
Padraig Harrington shot two over, managing just a solitary birdie at the 16th after three bogeys.
Further down the field there was disappointment for England's Oliver Wilson, who followed his opening 66 with a 73 to plummet down into a share of 23rd place.
Rory McIlroy moved to level par after a one-under 69, while Lee Westwood's 71 left him on the same mark.
Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington had rounds of 72 and 71, respectively, to be two over, while Sergio Garcia made the cut by just one shot after recovering well from his first-round 74 by going round in 69.
England's Greg Owen will have a free weekend though, after a 73 left him five over.
American Steve Flesch joined Owen in missing the cut, but the 42-year-old at least produced a gutsy 66 after yesterday's dismal 78 to progress to four over.
Kiradech leads in Malaysia
Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat put himself in prime position to win his first Asian Tour title.
The Thai snatched the joint third round lead with Welshman Rhys Davies at the Maybank Malaysian Open on Saturday.
Kiradech, 20, brilliantly birdied three of his last four holes for a four-under-par 68 and a three-day total of 11-under-par 205 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Davies tied the Thai rising star with a battling 71, which included three birdies against a double bogey.
The final round of the US$2 million co-sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour event is poised for a photo finish as two-time champion Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand (69), Soren Hansen of Denmark (69) and Koreans K.J. Choi (69) and Noh Seung-yul (67) are a shot back on 206.
Maybank Malaysian Open Leaderboard
The hefty Kiradech, a former junior world champion, nearly sank the first hole-in-one of the tournament when his six-iron tee shot on the 15th ended an inch behind the hole. Although disappointed to not win a car on offer, it sparked a stunning finish as he went on to birdie 17 and 18.
"My ball striking has been improving and that has played a part in my good performance. I missed a couple of putts on the back nine but I'm happy with the way I finished," said Kiradech.
"My highlight has to be the 15th hole. I almost won the car! I couldn't see where my tee shot ended but heard the crowd shouting and when I walked over I saw the ball was about an inch from the hole. If I had won the car, I would have driven it back to Thailand," added the Thai.
The big-hitting Kiradech hopes it will be third time lucky on Sunday as he has led twice previously going into the final round of an Asian Tour event, only to miss out on winning with the finish line in sight.
"It wasn't my day (then). So I need to learn from those experiences and hope it will be better than my last two attempts," said Kiradech, who returned early on Saturday to finish up four holes of his second round.
Davies, who played 25 holes on Saturday, rallied with two birdies on the front nine. After a double bogey on 10 which was a result of an errant drive into the water hazard, he fought back with a birdie on 17 and then missed a makeable birdie chance on the last for the outright lead.
"When you are playing well and making birdies, you don't feel so tired but when a double bogey comes along you feel pretty shattered," said Davies, who played on the Asian Tour in the last two seasons and won twice on the European Challenge Tour last year.
"It's good pressure. If I shoot the best score tomorrow then I win. That's a good thing. There are a number of great players up there so it is up to me to worry about my own game and try not to worry about them. If I score lower than them then I will come out on top," he added.
Vying for a third Maybank Malaysian Open title, reigning Asian Tour number one Thongchai mixed his card with five birdies against two bogeys to return with a 69 and was relishing the opportunity to win a record-equaling third Malaysian Open victory.
"It was hard work, a long day. I came back for two holes this morning. I need to rest up tonight and tomorrow, and get ready. I'll aim to play better tomorrow. I enjoyed it and had a good game plan. It was a bit hard as the pins were quite tough on the back nine but it was a good round. I'm pretty close now and I'm looking forward to tomorrow," said the former paratrooper.
Choi, aiming for a unique Malaysian double after his victory in the Iskandar Johor Open last October, was delighted to be in contention after firing five birdies against two bogeys.
"I put myself in a good position for the final round. I like where I am at. Yesterday and today, I just sweated so much and I feel weary now. Tomorrow, I just need to overcome the heat for one more day and try to close it out," said Choi.
Malaysia's M. Sasidaran returned a 74 for a 216 total in tied 44th place while compatriot Danny Chia shot a 78 to slip back to equal 72nd position.
Leading third round scores
205 - Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 68-69-68, Rhys Davies (WAL) 65-69-71
206 - Noh Seung-Yul (KOR) 69-70-67, K.J. Choi (KOR) 67-70-69, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 66-71-69, Soren Hansen (DEN) 70-67-69
207 - Johan Edfors (SWE) 69-69-69, Alejandro Canizares (ESP) 67-69-71
208 - Ignacio Garrido (ESP) 65-72-71
209 - Rahil Gangjee (IND) 68-75-66, Danny Willett (ENG) 72-69-68, Soren Kjeldsen, (DEN) 71-70-68, Scott Barr (AUS) 68-71-70, Kim Dae-Hyun (KOR) 66-73-70, Angelo Que (PHI) 70-67-72
210 - Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) 77-65-68
211 - Wu Ashun (CHN) 73-70-68
212 - Niclas Fasth (SWE) 69-73-70, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 70-72-70, Lu Wei-Chih (TPE) 74-70-68, Daniel Chopra (SWE) 71-70-71, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 73-71-68, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 69-72-71, Jason Knutzon (USA) 73-67-72
Football News
Ancelotti: Milan win almost impossible
AC Milan have a mountain to climb in their Champions League clash against Man United, having lost 3-2 at the San Siro in the first leg.
"[Milan] will believe in achieving anything, even something on the limits of impossibility," Ancelotti told Tuttosport.
Roma coach Claudio Ranieri shared a similar assessment in his interview, stating that Sir Alex Ferguson is experienced enough to weather what the Rossoneri may throw at him.
"He will not play all-out attack to win. You'll see that he will wait for the right moment to deliver the knock-out blow. Milan will have to play the perfect game to get past Old Trafford," he said to Il Giornale.
Ferguson hails Old Trafford
Sir Alex Ferguson has reflected on his time with Man United and chose his best moments at Old Trafford ahead of the clash against AC Milan.
"Old Trafford is a special place on European nights, when the stadium's full, the floodlights are on and the fans are up for it," he told United's official website.
"It's an enormous lift to the players when the fans are really behind them - the Barcelona semi-final in 2008 is a great example."
The 68-year-old can still remember his first game with United and his home debut at Old Trafford.
"My first two matches as manager had been away from home, to Oxford United and Norwich City, so it was towards the end of November when I had my first game at Old Trafford [against Queens Park Rangers]," he added.
"We won 1-0, John Sivebaek scored from a free-kick in the first half and we should have maybe won by more.
"But getting my first win was the important thing. You certainly want to win your first home game, that's for sure.
"I don't think there was a big crowd at Old Trafford that day, but I was given a good reception by the supporters, I'll always remember that."
The Red Devils boss has sat through numerous goals at the 'Theatre of Dreams', and recalls one more than any other.
"My favourite goal at Old Trafford was the one Paul Scholes scored against Panathinaikos in 2000, when the team strung together 32 passes."
"I always remember a famous goal that Leeds United scored against Southampton with something like 38 passes, but the finish was nothing like Scholesy's.
"He chipped the goalkeeper from about 16 yards, it was fantastic. It was a special goal."
United's chief executive David Gill also loves the atmosphere of Old Trafford during a European game.
"I really enjoy Champions League nights here," he added.
"I think what sets them apart is people coming here after a day at work, perhaps after a visit to the pub so they have a drink or two inside them."
"It's also great to play against teams and players who you don't regularly see in the Premier League."
