Sports Reporter – The News
KARACHI: Pakistan youth football team went 0-2 down against South Korea in their second Group D match of the 2nd Asian Youth Games in the Chinese city of Nanjing on Thursday.
The win helped South Korea confirm their berth in the quarter-finals. Pakistan need a win against Vietnam in their last match on Saturday (tomorrow) if they are to move into the last-eight stage.
Korea, who had whipped Vietnam 6-1 in their opener the other day, got onto the scoresheet through Ri Soslong in the 16th minute. Three minutes later skipper Kim Jisong doubled their lead with a soft chip. Pakistan did a fine job afterwards to prevent strong rivals from adding to their total.
Pakistan had defeated Chinese Taipei 3-1 in their first show.
Meanwhile, in the other match of the group Vietnam put Chinese Taipei out of the tournament when they outgunned them 3-0 to keep their quarter-finals hopes alive.
Van Nam hit a brace by scoring goals in the 21st and 41st minutes. Vietnam added to their tally through captain Dang Van Lam in the 69th minute.
On Saturday (tomorrow) South Korea will face Chinese Taipei while Pakistan will meet Vietnam.
Meanwhile, in handball slots Pakistan ended their voyage with a consolation 21-16 win over Vietnam.
The Greenshirts had earlier been defeated by Iran and Qatar in their previous two Group A matches. Pakistan will now play for 9-16 spots. No competitions will be conducted on Friday (today) as the day has been exclusively specified for the opening ceremony of the spectacle, which will last till August 24.
Pakistani athletes will also be showing their worth in the extravaganza in weightlifting, swimming, shooting and squash.
Saeed Iqbal Khan (Railways) is serving as chief de mission of the Pakistan contingent with Chaudhry Asghar (wrestling) and Rizwanul Haq (rowing) as secretary and admin officer, respectively.