CRICKET | Page 5 NNBABA | Page 7 Rabada scalps Curry fi res 37 To Advertise here six as South as Warriors Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 Africa thrash clobber Spurs England 120-90 Wednesday, January 27, 2016 TENNIS Rabia II 17, 1437 AH Djokovic and Federer GULF TIMES set up dream semi-fi nal SPORT Page 9 AFC U23 CHAMPIONSHIP / QAT vs KOR AFC U23 CHAMPIONSHIP / JPN vs IRQ Harakawa Qatar’s Olympic winner downs wait continues aft er Iraq, Japan qualify for Rio AFC keeper Fahad Talib no chance. loss to South Korea Japan should have added a second Doha through Suzuki just three minutes later, but after beating the Iraq off side trap to Hosts will have to beat Iraq in third-place playoff for Olympic spot iki Harakawa scored a 93rd turn onto Minamino’s through ball on minute winner as Japan se- the edge of the penalty area, the striker By Joe Koraith cured a place in the fi nal of curled his eff ort wide with the goal at Doha the AFC U23 Championship his mercy and only Talib to beat. Rand qualifi cation for the 2016 Olympic Games after snatching a dramatic 2-1 Yuya Kubo had given Japan atar will have to wait un- win over Iraq in yesterday’s semi-fi nal a 26th minute lead only for til Friday to know whether at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. Saad Natiq to head home they will be going to the Yuya Kubo had given Japan a 26th Olympics as they crashed minute lead only for Saad Natiq to head an equaliser for Iraq two Qto a heart-breaking 1-3 defeat against home an equaliser for Iraq two minutes minutes before South Korea in the semi-fi nals of the before half-time. half-time. With extra-time AFC U23 Championship yesterday. But with extra-time looming, Har- The South Koreans will now face Ja- akawa rifl ed home from the edge of looming aft er both sides pan in the fi nal on Saturday after Japan the penalty area as Japan ended a two- had struggled for quality in defeated Iraq 2-1 earlier in the day. game losing streak against Iraq, who the fi nal third, Harakawa Goals in the 89th and 96th minutes can still qualify for Brazil later this year from Kwon Chang-hoon and substi- via Friday’s third place playoff against rifl ed home from the edge tute Moon Chang-jin took the South hosts Qatar, who lost to South Korea in of the penalty area Koreans to victory after the hosts had the second semifi nal. cancelled out Ryu Seung-woo’s 49th Japan coach Makoto Teguramori And just two minutes before half- minute strike through Ahmed Alaed- made four changes from the quarter- time Iraq equalised as Natiq headed din’s goal in the 79th minute. fi nal success over Iran, notably the re- home from the edge of the six yard Qatar still have a chance to qualify call of both striker Musashi Suzuki and area at the second time of asking after for the 2016 Olympics but for that they midfi elder Takumi Minamino, while Japan goalkeeper Masatoshi Kushibiki will have to defeat defending champi- Iraq counterpart Shahad Abdulghani had fi rst unconvincingly dealt with a ons Iraq in the third-place playoff on brought in Saad Natiq and Amjed Hus- Hussein corner and initial close range Friday. The top three teams in the U23 sein following last week’s last eight header from the Iraq centre-back. tournament qualify for the Olympics victory over the United Arab Emirates. Iraq maintained the pressure at the later this year in Rio de Janeiro. And both sides showed plenty of at- start of the second half as Amjad Attwan Yesterday’s encounter at the Al tacking intent at the start of an open Kadhim’s drilled rising strike from just Sadd stadium was a stop-start af- contest, although the game lacked a outside the edge of the penalty area was fair with neither team able to domi- clear-cut chance. helped over the crossbar courtesy of an nate proceedings. The fi rst half was But that changed after 26 minutes outstretched hand from Kushibiki. particularly scrappy and didn’t see a as Suzuki raced down the left touch- But with extra-time looming after single shot on target. But there were line after winning possession just both sides had struggled for quality in moves that could have provided goals inside his own half before sending the fi nal third, Harakawa rifl ed home for either team. Qatar came the clos- a low cross across the six yard area from the edge of the penalty area after est in the 10th minute when an Ahmed for a sliding Kubo to give Iraq goal- Minamino’s cross had been cleared. Moein freekick landed perfectly for Moez Ali but the resulting header was Qatar players are dejected after their 1-3 loss to South Korea in the AFC U23 Championship semi-final match yesterday. wide. Ali got a chance again in the 18th (Below) Koreans celebrate after they set up a title clash with Japan. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil minute when the ball fell to him inside the box but his shot defl ected off a de- to the equaliser in the 63rd minute fender for a corner. but his header, towards the near post, In the second half, South Korea was saved by South Korea keeper, Kim scored right at the start because of a Dong-Jun. Then it was the turn of goalkeeping error. Qatar keeper Mu- Naim to save another shot from Hyun. hannad Naim has had a good tourna- Qatar were looking more and more ment so far, having pulled off some threatening. In the 73rd minute, good saves. So it was uncharacteristic Ahmed Alaeddin got a brilliant for him to come way out of his box to through pass from Ahmed Yasser af- defend a long ball from deep inside the ter the defender produced a great run South Korean territory. Ryu Seung- down the middle. But the Qatar striker woo, who was lurking dangerously up fl ayed his shot wide. front, had the presence of mind the But just six minutes later, Alaeddin direct the ball towards the goal from redeemed himself when he scored the almost 40 yards out. Qatar defender equalizer. Defender Musaab Khidir Tameem Mohamed set off in chase but ran down the right fl ank and then de- could not stop the ball from going into livered an accurate cross to Alaeddin the goal. inside the box and the striker put the The goal gave South Korea confi - ball in the back of the net. The Korean dence and they were seeing more of keeper should have saved that as the the ball. Naim, after his earlier blun- ball went through his hands. This goal dle but lost the ball right on the edge was caught napping there as no one der, kept Qatar in the game with cru- puts Alaeddin at the top of the goal- of the box. noticed the run from Chang-hoon. cial saves. The fi rst one was in the 55th scoring charts with fi ve. And then came the decisive mo- And then to rub salt into the minute when he saved a strong, low Qatar were now on level terms and ment. In the 89th minute defender Lee wounds, South Korea were able to shot from Kim Hyun. it was their turn to dominate proceed- Seul-Chan provided a great cross for add a third goal in the 96th minute Then Qatar started to regroup and ings. In the 89th minute, Akram Afi f Kwon Chang-hoon and the midfi elder of the game through substitute Moon build attacks. Ali Asad came very close produced a strong run down the mid- scored with ease. The Qatar defence Chang-jin. Japan’s Riki Harakawa (foreground) is tackled by an Iraqi player during their AFC U23 Championship semi-final match at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Anas Khalid Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, January 27, 2016 FOOTBALL AFC U23 CHAMPIONSHIP Coach Teguramori hails Asano boost in Japan’s win Japan beat Iraq 2-1 to qualify for their sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games AFC Doha oach Makoto Teguramori hailed the late introduction of striker Takuma Asano as Japan netted a stoppage Ctime winner to edge out Iraq 2-1 in yesterday’s AFC U23 Championship semi-fi nal to secure qualifi cation for the 2016 Olympic Games. Riki Harakawa rifl ed home from the edge of the penalty area in the last of three added minutes with extra-time looming after Iraq’s Saad Natiq had cancelled out Yuya Kubo’s 26th minute opener on the stroke of half-time. And while Teguramori’s side secured their place in Saturday’s AFC U23 Championship fi nal, Japan also qualifi ed for a sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro later this year. “The game was a qualifi er for Rio as well as the fi nal, so I am relived we have won,” said Teguramori, who introduced Asano in place of goals- corer Kubo with 12 minutes of nor- mal time remaining at the end of the second half at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. “I was really not willing for extra-time. We managed to score a goal, but then we conceded a goal for Iraq. But in the second half Iraq became off ensive so we had to really show restraint and I though it would be an endurance game.