Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Mandalay: Chinese Taipei made it two wins out of two in the second round of qualifiers for the 2016 Olympic Games on Wednesday with a 3-0 defeat of Jordan while Thailand took the first steps towards Rio as they kicked-off their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 victory over hosts Myanmar.
Looking to build on their 1-0 win over 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup hosts Vietnam, Chinese Taipei took an eighth minute lead at the Mandalar Thiri Stadium through Chan Pi-han before substitute Michelle Pao made it 2-0 in the 45th minute, scoring the East Asians’ second just two minutes after replacing forward Lee Hsiu-chin.
Jordan, who become the first West Asian side to participated at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup last year, fell further behind two minutes shy of the hour mark when Yasmeen Khair put the ball into her own net, with the Jordanian defender’s own goal completing Chinese Taipei’s 3-0 win and sending them top of the standings with a 100% record.
In Wednesday’s other fixture Thailand made a winning start to their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 victory over hosts Myanmar, who had defeated the Thais by an identical margin in the Group Stage of last year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
A hugely impressive crowd of just over 22,000 spectators saw Anootsara Maijarern give the Thais a 34th minute lead before doubling the advantage with her second of the game in the 69th minute.
Second-half substitute San San Maw gave hope for the home fans when she reduced the deficit four minutes later but there was to be no further scoring as the Thais held out for their first three points.
The team that emerges top of the five-team table on September 22 will join reigning Asian champions Japan, 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup runners-up Australia, DPR Korea, China, and Korea Republic in the Qualification Final Round, with the top two sides going on to represent Asia at the women’s football tournament of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.