India almost clinched the title-round berth before Razie Rahim turned out to be Malaysia’s saviour with a hat-trick in an enthralling 3-3 draw in a Super-4 encounter of the Asia Cup hockey tournament here on Sunday.

Rahim (12th, 21st, 56th minutes) converted three penalty corners for Malaysia, while India made a valiant fightback after being two goals down, scoring through Vishnukant Singh (32nd), SV Sunil (53rd) and Nilam Sanjeep Xess (55th).

India had earlier defeated Japan 2-1 in their first Super 4 match on Saturday.

In another Super 4 league match, South Korea defeated Japan 3-1 to move to four points. As the Super 4’s table stands, South Korea are at the top of the table with India placed second.

Japan have no chance of making it to the final while Malaysia have an outside chance if they can beat Japan by a comprehensive margin provided the India and South Korea match ends in a draw.