CHIANG MAI - Tajikistan take home the King's Cup trophy as they beat Malaysia on penalties to win the 48th edition of the annual Thai international tournament.
The match, which took place under heavy rain conditions, saw both teams getting opportunities to put themselves ahead as conditions grew increasingly tricky for the players. Malaysia's stout defense ultimately meant that the match went into penalties to decide the winner.
Although Tajikistan's first penalty from captain Akhtam Nazarov was missed, Malaysia failed to score their next three penalties, two of which drawing brilliant saves from star keeper Rustam Yatimov. The last penalty was scored by Rustam Soirov, which sent the Tajikistan players and staff wheeling away in celebration in a memorable night in Chiang Mai.
Malaysia would be ruing their missed penalties, especially after their perfect penalty shootout against Thailand which earned them a spot in the finals during the first round. Thailand came home third after earlier beating Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 with goals from Channarong Promsrikaew and Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo player Supachok Sarachat.