India sight quarters in
U-17 Asian soccer

India enhanced their chances of a berth in the quarter- finals of the 10th Asian Under-17 football championships after holding the UAE to a 1-1 draw in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night.

With China and the UAE already assured of a place in the last eight, India have a chance of qualifying as one of the two best third-placed teams. However, they will have to wait till the matches in the other two groups are completed on Saturday.

China, with a maximum nine points from three matches, finished on top of the group, followed by the UAE, who had four points, the same as India, but took second place by virtue of a better goal difference of +1 compared to India's 0. The UAE had five goals for and four against while India had six for and as many against.

The Indians were unlucky to draw the match. Backed by a goodly expatriate crowd they impressed and should have emerged victorious but for their prodigality in front of the goal. In fact, they called the shots in the first half with their short passing and midfield control and forced the hosts on the defensive.

Dead-ball expert Malsawma put India ahead as early as the seventh minute when he scored a superb goal from nearly 30 metres.

Malsawma, alongwith Jerry Zirsanga and Lamare Rocus, made some brilliant moves to pierce through the hosts' defence many a time.

UAE skipper Saeed Mohammad Al Sayegh coverted a penalty to score the much-needed equaliser for the hosts and put them into the quarter-finals.

But much to the UAE's dismay, Saeed got two yellow cards just three minutes before the final whistle and will have to sit out in the quarter-finals.

The UAE will face the winner of Group C, which comprises of Uzbekistan, Syria, Qatar and Japan.

In another match, China thrashed bottom-placed Myanmar 4-1.

Striker Jiang Chen scored a brace with goals in the 27th and 31th minutes before Kyaw Kyaw Soe reduced the margin for Myanmar to 1-2 in the 34th minute. After the break, China continued at full steam, adding two more goals to their tally - in the 71st minute by Mao Biao, and 82nd minute by Bai Long to emerge handsome winners.

The strong Chinese side now face the third-placed team from Group B or C in the quarter-finals next week.

The tournament features 12 countries. The top three will represent the Asian continent in the Fifa Under-17 World Championship in Finland next year.