New Zealand beat South Korea 3-2 on Wednesday in the Sultan Azlan Shah five-nation field hockey tournament in the northern Malaysian city of Ipoh, boosting their hopes of reaching the final.

The Kiwis scored in the first minute of the match, as Bevan Hari punished the Koreans for a lapse in concentration.

Seo Jong-ho equalised in the 16th minute, but New Zealand stormed back with two goals by Hayden Shaw and Phillip Burrows after the interval.

The Asian champions fought to claw back, but Jang Jong-hyun's goal two minutes before the match ended was not enough to rescue his team.

In another match, Pakistan beat Malaysia 3-1, a result that will likely doom the hosts to finish last among the five teams in the annual competition, which also includes world champions Germany. Malaysia has not won a match so far.

Pakistan, which won the title in 2000, scored through Ali Raza and penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas, who rammed in two goals in the third and 57th minutes. Malaysia's goal came through Norazlan Rahim in the 47th minute.