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Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:01 |
 Kuala Lumpur: High-octane action will be the order of the day for lovers of the Asian game Thursday as the knockout phases of both the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and AFC Futsal Championship commence in Chengdu (China) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) respectively.
Kuala Lumpur: High-octane action will be the order of the day for lovers of the Asian game Thursday as the knockout phases of both the AFC Womens Asian Cup and AFC Futsal Championship commence in Chengdu (China) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) respectively.
The crammed competitions calendar this year, thanks to the FIFA World Cup, means both the competitions - which are biennial and highly popular with the fans - are being played concurrently.
In the AFC Womens Asian Cup, the conclusion of thrilling group stage action has seen four teams qualify for the semi-finals - Japan take on Australia while China cross swords with reigning champions DPR Korea.
The match-ups are reminiscent of the furious action in the previous edition in 2008 when Japan beat Australia 3-0 to finish third and DPR Korea shocked China 2-1 to lift the title in Vietnam.
More than 11,000 loyal fans turned out to watch and cheer China as the local women beat Australia 1-0 in their final group game to qualify top of their group and it is safe to expect a packed house at the ultra-modern Chengdu Sports Centre for the semi-final tussle.
Three of the AFC Womens Asian Cup countries - Japan, Australia and China - are also battling for honours in the AFC Futsal Championship in the Uzbek capital after making the quarter-final grade.
Last editions hosts and runners-up Thailand will provide opposition to China, 2006 champions Japan clash with Kyrgyzstan while hosts Uzbekistan will lock horns with Australia.
The remaining last eight encounter will pit none other than the unquestioned futsal bosses of Asia, Iran against a fledgeling Lebanese side, who have impressed so far but might find themselves out of depth against the rampaging champions.
The Thais narrowly missed a berth in the AFC Womens Asian Cup semi-finals but look good for their money in the shorter version of the game against China, who are the East Asian futsal champions.
Japan will surely fall back on their facile victory in the last edition over Kyrgyzstan at the same stage if any motivation is needed.
And, the Lebanese would do well to forget the 9-1 hiding administered by Team Melli in the last quarter-finals if they are to entertain any hopes of containing their rivals, leave alone beating them.
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