Saturday, 12 October 2002 |
Sports |
News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries |
Indian women athletes shine PUSAN, South Korea, Friday (Reuters) - India's women won three athletics golds and the men showed their prowess in hockey, while Japan and Iran reached the soccer final at the expense of Thailand and South Korea at the Asian Games on Thursday. The 11th day of competition saw Saraswati Saha (200m) and Sunita Rani (1500m) join discus thrower Neelam Jaswant Singh in claiming gold and the Indian government's win bonus of $40,000. Five golds from women athletes helped lift Asia's second largest country to sixth in the medals table with a total of nine. China maintained their dominance, ending the day with 127 golds, followed by South Korea with 67 and Japan with 39. The hosts were upset 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out by Iran, who are chasing a fourth Asian Games title, after 90 minutes and extra-time failed to produce a goal. South Korea, who lost 1-0 to Germany in the last four at the World Cup, were in control throughout the match at Gudeok stadium but received a let-off when Iran had a "goal" disallowed for offside two minutes into the second half. Replays suggested that Iran striker Javad Kazemeyan was onside when he stooped to head a left-wing cross from Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht past South Korea goalkeeper Lee Won-jae. There were shades of the World Cup as the Iranian players protested vehemently to Bahraini referee Rahman Al-Delawar. Italy and Spain both complained bitterly about the officiating after they lost to the co-hosts at the World Cup in the second round and quarter-finals respectively. If Iran were hard done by, however, that was the closest they came to scoring in a match dominated by South Korea. |
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |