(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) It was heartbreak for Oman as its beach soccer team lost to Vietnam 4-5 in a quarterfinal penalty-shootout at the fourth Asian Beach Games in Phuket Thailand on Wednesday.
Talib Hilal's men matched their rivals all through in the three periods with the scores level at 1-1 at the end of each session.
However in the shootout the gold medallist of the inaugural Asian Beach Games fell behind for good when Ghaith al Alawi's penultimate shot hit the crossbar after the teams were locked at 4-4.
Vinh Phong Tran successfully scored the final shot and Vietnam entered the semifinals.
During the shootout Mundhir al Araimi Yaqoob al Alawi goalkeeper Said al Farsi and Yahya al Araimi converted while Abdullah al Sooti's shot was saved.
Farsi saved Vietnam's Van Hoa Tran's shot to make it 2-2 and the score went to 4-4 before Ghaith's failed attempt. Earlier Yaqoob Ghaith and Khalid al Araimi each scored in a session to help Oman draw parity with Vietnam. Oman will next play China for the fifth to eighth classification spots on Thursday.
Speaking to Muscat Daily from Phuket after the loss coach Talib said 'The boys played well but failed to utilise the chances. Two mistakes from corner-kicks allowed Vietnam to come back into the game.'
Talib added that after the win against Asian champion Iran on Tuesday the players were a bit tired and did not get enough rest ahead of Vietnam game.
Elsewhere the beach handball side kept Oman's hopes alive for a medal after entering the semifinals despite a 0-2 (13-16 14-18) loss to Qatar on Wednesday.
Oman now meets Pakistan on Thursday for a place in the final.
Also in a preliminary round match in beach kabaddi strong favourite Pakistan outplayed Oman 42-33 (17-21 25-12).
In sailing Oman's lone girl sailor Samiha al Riyami finished eighth among ten competitors after the seventh race in the Optimist class on Wednesday.
In the Optimist boys' event Marwan al Jabri was placed 12th while Salim al Alawi was struggling at 14th place among a field of 15 sailors after seven races.
The beach volleyball teams had a mixed run on Wednesday. While the pair of Badar al Subhi and Mazin al Hashmi defeated Turkmenistan's Davut Nuryev and Ata Atajanov 2-0 (21-15 21-15) Thailand's duo of Kittipat Yungtin and Prathip Sukto beat Haitham al Shereiqi and Ahmed al Hosni 2-0 (21-17 21-19).
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