(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Fawad Hussain I The Peninsula
Doha: After a draw against Thailand in their opening match, Qatar will face AFC U-23 champions Uzbekistan today in their second group B football clash at the Asian Games at Pakan Sari Stadium in Bogor, Indonesia.
Qatar played out a 1-1 draw against Thailand on Tuesday with midfielder Hazem Shehata scoring for Al Anabi.
It will be the toughest match for Qatar in the group stage as Uzbeks, who are one of the main contenders for gold medal, have shown outstanding form in their opening game.
They defeated Bangladesh - the remaining group B team 3-0 in their first match. Thailand and Bangladesh will lock horns in the other group B game, yesterday.
Meanwhile, yesterday, South Korea left star player Son Heung-min on the bench but still packed too much power as the defending champions opened their 2018 Asian Games Indonesia campaign with a 6-0 win over Bahrain.
In other matches, hosts Indonesia suffered a blow when they went down 2-1 to Palestine while Hong Kong edged closer to the knockout stage after defeating Chinese Taipei 4-0.
South Korea, who defeated DPR Korea 1-0 in the final four years ago, opened their title defence in style as they took a five-goal lead in the first half against Bahrain.
The defending champions went ahead after 17 minutes through Hwang Ui-Jo and doubled their lead when Kim Jin-ya found the net in the 23rd minute.
The Taeguk Warriors' attacking flair was on full display against the West Asians as Hwang picked up his second in the 36th minute.
Na Sang-ho then scored his team's fourth in the 41st minute while Hwang claimed his hat-trick in the 43rd as Korea Republic took a huge advantage into the break. Bahrain came out of their shell after the break as the East Asians sat back.
In added time, the Taeguk Warriors claimed their sixth goal from Hwang Hee Chan's free-kick after Lee Seung-woo was brought down by Hamad Alshamsan.
In a group E match, Malaysia posted a 3-1 win over Kyrgyz Republic while in group F DPR Korea played out a 1-1 draw against Myanmar. Saudi Arabia and Iran shared spoils after a goalless draw in other group F tie.
Qatar eye second win in 5x5 basketball
Meanwhile, Qatar will be looking for their second consecutive victory in 5x5 basketball as they take on Japan in group C today.
Qatar overcame a fightback by Hong Kong to claim their opening victory with a 90-80 margin at Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex on Tuesday.
A victory against Japan will consolidate Qatar's chances of reaching the next stage of the contest. In other basketball matches today, South Korea will take on Mongolia while Kazakhstan will square off with Philippines.
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