News
China and Iran in Blind Football Asian Championships final
Date: December 16, 2017
Category: Football
Today was semi-finals match day at the IBSA Blind Football Asian Championships 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
China and Iran, the finalists from the 2015 championships, qualified for tomorrow's final following wins over South Korea and Thailand respectively.
In the first semi, China, group A winners, had few difficulties to overcome South Korea 6-0 and secure a place in the final, but in the other match reigning Asian champions Iran were made to work hard by Thailand.
The first half was a tight affair and there were no goals at half-time. But in the second minute of the second half Iran's No 10 Behzad Zadaliasghari struck a beautiful shot into the top of the net to open the scoring. The lead didn't last for long, however, as Thailand's No 7, Panyawut Kupan, equalised from a free kick, his long-range shot from 15 metres squeezing under the Iranian goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
So it was 1-1 at the end of regular play and the game went into an exciting penalty shoot-out, with Iran coming out on top 3-2.
Watch Iran 1 Thailand 1 (3-2 AP)
Caption: screenshot showing the results of the two semi-finals.
China and Iran will meet in the finalñ tomorrow at 16:00 local time.
Fixtures Sunday 17th December
09:30 5th-6th place play-off – Malaysia vs Japan
11:30 3rd-4th place play-off – Thailand vs Korea
16:00 Final – China vs Iran
17:30 closing ceremony
All matches are streamed live on Facebook by R.AGE.
The IBSA Blind Football Asian Championships KL 2017 are hosted by the Malaysian Blind Sports Association.
Follow all the IBSA Blind Football news and activities on Facebook.
Caption: Poster for the IBSA Blind Football Asian Championships KL 2017.