HANGZHOU: The echoes of "kabaddi, kabaddi" resonated in the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre but the Malaysian combatants soon ran out of steam, allowing reigning gold medallist Iran to win handsomely.
Against South Korea on Monday, Malaysia had made a huge comeback to beat the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asiad silver medallists 40-38.
Still, there was no shame in the defeat yesterday. Coach M. Palaniandy said he did not play his first-team as he was saving the best for the final group game against Pakistan on Wednesday.
"Our main target is to beat Pakistan and hopefully get to the semi-final. Against South Korea, we played the first teamers. Our plan worked, and the fightback shown by them was excellent," said Palaniandy, whose team had trained for two months in India before the Asian Games.
"We could not give our best against Iran because some of our top players, like raider G. Viknesshwaran, were rested.
"I believe we are equal to Pakistan. The players are confident of giving their all. Hopefully, we can get to the semi-finals, which will also guarantee us a bronze medal."
Against Pakistan, four players won’t be available, with one of them - Alif Asri Buang - suffering a broken nose from the game against South Korea.
"The other three players have knee injuries," Palaniandy said.
