ASHGABAT (SW): Afghanistan has cruised through to the semi-final of the futsal competitions at the ongoing Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) 2017 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
In the nail-biting quarter-final, Afghanistan beat the host Turkmenistan 6-5 in the penalty shootouts. Thousands of locals were supporting the host team, yet the Afghans managed to hold their nerves and emerged victorious in this key game.
Both teams remained 4-4 neck and neck in the first half of the game. In the second half, Afghanistan took the lead in the 5th minute which was again equalized by Turkmenistan two minutes later. This led the game to be decided in the penalty shootouts.
Afghanistan’s defenders managed to repulse a number of promising goal opportunities created by the opponents. A number of decisions by the match referee were also seen in favor of the hosts.
Afghanistan would now face Iran in the semi-final at 04:30pm Afghanistan time. A victory in this game would ensure a silver medal and place in the final for a possible gold.
In billiard, Afghanistan’s Saleh Mohammad and Mohammad Raees grabbed a bronze medal by defeating opponents from Hong Kong. The Afghans, however, failed to defeat their Iranian opponents in the next round for silver.
ENDS
