+ A
A -
Victor Bolorunduro
Doha
Hosts Qatar will definitely rue their many missed chances after they ended up playing a 4-4 draw with Oman during their opening match of the men's event of the Indoor Hockey Asia Cup 2017 at the Aspire Dome in Doha on Monday.
The event which is being held from April 24 to 28 involves ten teams in both the men's and women's categories.
The Qatar-Oman match, which was the last for the day, started on a cautious note with both sides sizing each other up for the first five minutes of play.
It was not until the 8th minute when the first attempt at goal was made by Qatar through Mustafa Muhammad Sohail whose power-driven shot was effectively blocked by the Omani goalkeeper.
Qatar's goalkeeper was thereafter called into action in the 11th minute when his timely intervention saved a goal-bound shot that resulted from a penalty taken by the Omanis.
Ali Sheraz drew the first blood for Qatar in the 18th minute after a superb interplay from the duo of Aslam Adnan and Jamal Shahid saw the ball locating him in a good position.
He thereafter wasted no time as he coolly slotted the ball beyond the reach of the onrushing Omani goalkeeper to the admiration of the Qatar fans.
The score remained 1-0 in favour of Qatar as the first half ended. Oman came back smoking in the second half and their determination paid off in the 22nd minute as they equalised to level up the game.
Less than three minutes after restoring parity, Oman scored their second goal to take the lead.
Qatar's Sohail hit back almost immediately to once again draw level. Ali Sheraz thereafter shocked the opposition with a finely taken shot after stealing the ball from centre court while the Omanis were dillydallying on what to do with it to make it 3-2 in favour of the host.
The tempo of the game thereafter increased with the Omanis looking for an equaliser almost immediately.
But with all their efforts, it was Qatar who once again entered into the scorers sheet to extend their lead to 4-2 through Muhammad Sami Ullah who received a through pass from Ali Sheraz. He carefully evaded the onrushing Omani goalkeeper before hitting home with a well taken shot.
The hosts thereafter went to sleep, missing about three more chances that could have effectively buried the game once and for all. While Qatar missed their chances, the Omanis took theirs as they scored in the 35th and 37th minutes to once again restore parity and thereby ensuring the spoils were equally shared.
"It is always a special game between Oman and Qatar. Though it was an interesting match but we didn't take some of the chances we had to bury the game. We are facing Iran in the next match which obviously will be very tough. We hope to take something out of the match but we'll see whatever happens," Qatar's coach Maggid Abu-Talib said after the match.
Meanwhile, pre-tournament favourite Iran, who are the defending champions, expectedly sent Malaysia to the cleaners with an 11-0 defeat in their first match of the tournament.
The Iranians are once again tipped to win this tournament as no other country beside them have won the tournament, which is governed by the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF), since its introduction in 2008.
In the other matches of the day, Kazakhstan defeated Chinese Taipei 7-3, while Uzbekistan and Thailand played a 1-1 draw.
In the women's event, Kazakhstan trounced DPR Korea 5-2, while Thailand beat Uzbekistan 3-1. Malaysia battered China 15-0 before playing a 3-3 draw with Uzbekistan.
Eight teams are involved in the men's event while six are slugging it out in the women's. The tournament is the biggest hockey tournament to be staged in Qatar. Finalists in the men's event automatically qualify for the 2018 Hockey Indoor World Cup to be held from February 7-11 in Berlin, Germany.
