Group C at the Asian Cup was finely poised on Friday after Australia and South Korea played out a high-quality 1-1 draw and Bahrain demolished whipping boys India 5-2 in an entertaining goalfest.
Australia and South Korea, two of the pre-tournament favorites, are in the driving seat with four points each with one more game to go, with Bahrain just behind them on three points. India are out of the competition.
In what looks like being an evening of high drama, the Socceroos take on Bahrain in the last round of matches on Tuesday, while South Korea go up against a hapless India, who have conceded nine goals in just two games.
There was little to choose between Australia and South Korea at the al-Gharafa Stadium and a draw was a fair result.
Exciting 21-year-old Koo Ja-cheol, who has attracted interest from overseas clubs, got the breakthrough for South Korea on 24 minutes, striking his third goal of the competition, but a second-half equalizer from Mile Jedinak pulled Australia level.
Both sides had plenty of opportunities to settle an enjoyable game, with Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer pulling off a fine one-handed save from Ki Sung-yueng four minutes from time to prevent a South Korea victory.
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck said it was a quality game and he was happy with the result.
“I think we have seen a very high standard from both teams, who have great potential. They displayed it time and again. At times it was end-to-end stuff,” the German said. “My team, I’m very happy with their performance. Our game plan was to close them down in midfield and that was mostly achieved. What I found encouraging was we created a lot of chances.”
In contrast, his counterpart Cho Kwang-rae considered it two points lost.
“We could have won the game. If you look at the general performance of our team, then we should have won,” Cho said. “We controlled the game mostly, so in that aspect we have improved a lot. I am pleased about that and if we can continue to develop that part of our game, then it will be much better for us as we move forward.”
Ismaeel Abdulatif was the hero for Bahrain, netting a 19-minute hat-trick to keep his side in contention for a last-eight berth, after Faouzi Aaish’s penalty had been canceled out by India midfielder Gouramangi Singh.
Sunil Chhetri pulled another goal back for India early in the second half, but after Aaish had been sent off, Abdulatif rammed home his fourth goal with 13 minutes remaining to kill off any hopes of an India comeback.
“I told the players India had nothing to lose in the second half,” Bahrain coach Salman Sharida said. “We took what we needed and we got the points. We wanted more goals, but Faouzi Aaish was sent off, so we took what we had and we will now focus on the next match.”
They must now beat heavyweights Australia to reach the quarter-finals, but the Socceroos require just a point to go through at Bahrain’s expense.
India were roared on by a near-capacity crowd at an Al Sadd Stadium packed with excitable expats from their homeland, but they become the second team to exit
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care