Malaysia's performance at the Busan Asian Games could have been much better.

But, poor performances in the early matches paid put to the Malaysian chances of winning a medal.

The Malaysian players crumbled under the pressure of playing in a top class event.

The team lost 21-47 in their opening match and 7-46 by Bangladesh.

However the team bounced back with a better performance against Sri Lanka, only to lose 16-18.

The demoralised side than lost 7-29 against Pakistan.

Malaysia, showed their true colours against Japan.

Japan, the 2001 Asian Championships silver medallists and the runners-up at the Malaysian Open this year, needed only a simple win over Malaysia to clinch a historic bronze.

No one gave the Malaysians a chance against the Japanese, who had beaten eventual silver medallist Bangladesh in an earlier match.

However, Malaysia had other plans. With their best performance in the competition, the Malaysian side held the Japanese to a scoreless first half and went on to beat their rivals 14-5.

The win ensured Malaysia finish ahead of Sri Lanka in fifth place and also helped Pakistan edge out Japan for the bronze medal.