Asian powers Australia, Japan and South Korea all started their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaigns on Wednesday with wins.
Australia downed Qatar 3-0, Japan beat Thailand 4-1 and South Korea defeated a stubborn Turkmenistan 4-0.
Saudi Arabia also won, beating Singapore 2-0, but Iran were held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Syria.
The five Asian powers had byes through the first two stages of Asian qualifying but have been joined by 15 others.
Also on Wednesday, it was: Iraq 1, China 1; Oman 0, Bahrain 1; Jordan 0, North Korea 1; Lebanon 0, Uzbekistan 1; and United Arab Emirates 2, Kuwait 0.
The top two teams in each of the five four-nation groups advance to the fourth round of qualifying.
Four Asian teams will qualify automatically for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while a fifth will play in an intercontinental playoff against the top-ranked team from Oceania.
Iran, who are trying to qualify for the World Cup for the fourth time, played in Tehran without a full-time coach. Former Spain coach Javier Clemente is reported to be the man that will take over, but he has yet to sign a contract.
Hawar Mulla Mohammed gave Iraq a 1-0 lead in Dubai with a 50th-minute penalty, but China midfielder Zheng Zhi equalized in the 75th.
"We were clearly the better side," Iraq coach Egil Olsen said. "We really wanted to win this match to have a good chance of qualifying."
Iraq are playing their three home matches in Dubai because of the unstable situation at home.
Alaa Hubail scored in the 14th minute to help Bahrain beat Oman in Muscat, and Odel Ahmedov scored the only goal of the match in the 44th in Uzbekistan's win over Lebanon in Beirut.
Only about 200 invited guests watched the match because of a decision taken two years ago by the Lebanese soccer federation to prevent sectarian clashes between supporters of rival teams.
North Korea kept pace with South Korea by beating Jordan on Hong Yong Jo's free kick in the 42nd minute in Amman.
The United Arab Emirates got goals from Mohammed al-Shehhi and Faisal Khalil in their win over Kuwait. Al-Shehhi headed in a free kick from Subait Khater in the 13th minute, and Khalil scored off a corner kick in the 53rd.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
RSS