Qatar and Iran players in action during their Asia Cup Indoor Hockey Championship match played at Aspire Dome yesterday. Iran displayed a ruthless show in the second half to overshadow a gutsy performance from Qatar in the opening session, for a 9-3 victo
Six-time champions Iran displayed a ruthless show in the second half to overshadow a gutsy performance from Qatar in the opening session, for a 9-3 victory against the hosts at the Asia Cup Indoor Hockey Championship at Aspire Dome.
Iran, who have won all the previous editions of the tournament, fired six goals in the second half to completely dominate the Maggid Abu Talib-coached side in the last session.
Qatar were impressive in the first 25 minutes allowing just a narrow 3-2 lead to the pre-event favourites. However, Iran used all their experience against the hosts and scored in short intervals in the remaining match to take proceedings beyond Qatar’s reach. The hosts managed to score a consolation goal in the 38th minute.
Earlier, Qatar stunned Iran with an aggressive display and were leading 2-1 till the eighth minute. Iran leveled the score three minutes later and took the lead just before the end of first half.
Today, Qatar will meet Malaysia who notched their first victory of the tournament with a 9-2 rout over Oman. Oman did well in the first half conceding a 3-1 lead but they looked a complete mismatch against their counterparts in the second half, who struck six goals to register the win. Malaysia had suffered a 11-0 hammering against mighty Iranians in their first match.
Earlier, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan shared a point each after a 4-4 draw. Both the sides were also even in the first session, going into the final half with a score of 1-1.
In the women's competition which is running simultaneously with the men’s event, Uzbekistan claimed back-to-back wins to go top of the points table in the league contest.
The Kazakhs first thrashed China 11-0 after taking a 6-0 lead in the first half. They later overcame Thailand 3-0 to maintain their winning streak and top the table with 9 points from three matches.
Thailand are occupying the second spot on the points table after earning an impressive 4-1 win over Peoples Republic of Korea.
In other match, Uzbekistan annihilated China 17-0 to secure their first victory and third position in the standings.
