HANGZHOU: India and Paki­s­tan both advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games on Thursday despite their matches being washed out in Hangzhou.

India batted first in the Twenty20 encounter against Malaysia and piled up 173-2 in their rain-interrupted 15 overs. Malaysia faced just two balls and were 1-0 in reply when the rain returned and the match was abandoned with no result.

India progressed to the semi-final because of their higher world ranking.

The incessant showers meant Pakistan went through for the same reason against Indonesia in the later game without a ball being bowled as the covers remained on at the Zhejiang University of Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field.

India will face the winner of Friday’s quarter-final between Bangladesh and Hong Kong for a place in the final. Pakistan will play either Sri Lanka or Thailand in the last four.

Jemimah Jessica Rodrigues scored an unbeaten 47 off 29 balls for India and star batter Shafali Verma smashed 67 off just 39 with five sixes and four fours as Malaysia were given the runaround in the field before the washout.

“The partnerships we had with everyone ticked off at the right time,” said Rodrigues. “It gives us a lot of confidence. And we take it from here into the semi-finals. So it’s a big, big plus point for us.”

Malaysia coach Thusara Kodikara said it was a shame that his batters did not get the chance to test themselves against India’s bowling attack.

“We are here to learn a lot of things from this kind of team [but] we can’t do anything because of the rain. It was out of our control,” said the Sri Lankan-born coach.

“We are very disappointed because we wanted to play and give our best in this tournament. I am very proud of them because they are quite young and of course they want to learn in every single game. They are working very hard in the last few months [and] I hope these young girls learn from this game also.”

Pakistan won gold on both previous occasions women’s cricket featured at the Asian Games, at Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014. The sport was not played at the Jakarta Asiad five years ago.

SOUTH KOREA THUMP THAILAND

In men’s football, defending champions South Korea became the first team into the last 16 after a 4-0 cruise past Thailand.

Hosts China and North Korea also registered second successive wins and both need only a point from their final group games on Sunday to guarantee a place in the knockout phase.

South Korea raced into a 4-0 lead by half-time at the Jinhua Sports Centre stadium via a goal apiece for Hong Hyun-seok, An Jae-jun, Um Wong-san and Lee Jae-ik.

It sparked thoughts that the gold medal winners from Jakarta in 2018 might repeat their 9-0 opening game rout of Kuwait on Tuesday, but the Thais were more resolute in the second half.

China had a sizeable crowd at the Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium rocking by half-time as they also went 4-0 up before the break against Myanmar.

Two goals from Long Tan and one apiece from Dai Wenjun and Wang Zhenao put them into cruise control and though they peppered the Myanmar goal in the second half they, like the South Koreans, could not add to their score.

Earlier on Thursday, India kept their last-16 hopes alive by edging Bangladesh 1-0 with a goal from 39-year-old striker Sunil Chhetri.

India lost their opening game 5-1 to China on Tuesday but can still go through from Group A if they beat Myanmar on Sunday.

North Korea, who are playing their first tournament since the Covid pandemic, were pushed hard by Kyrgyzstan but a 20th-minute goal from forward Kim Kuk Jin was enough to give them a 1-0 victory at the Zhejiang Normal University Stadium. They beat Taiwan 2-0 in their opening match on Tuesday.

GLUM MOOD

The Asian Games officially open on Saturday but nationwide excitement has been muted as the economy sputters and some locals question the cost of the sporting extravaganza.

Delayed a year by Covid-19, the quadrennial games will be China’s biggest sporting event in over a decade, with more than 12,000 athletes from 45 nations competing in 40 sports.

Organisers this week expressed confidence in holding a “magnificent” games, thanks to President Xi Jinping’s “important instructions” and great, broad-based efforts. Analysts agree the event will likely go smoothly, given China’s famously meticulous preparations.

Local officials will be aware that Xi previously worked in Hangzhou, is known to like big sporting events and will host a long list of leaders and other VIPs — including Bashar al-Assad on only the second visit by a Syrian president to China since the countries established diplomatic ties in 1956.

But enthusiasm in Hangzhou and elsewhere in China is lacking, with some saying the new stadiums and other gleaming facilities reflect misplaced priorities.

“After three years of Covid, the economic and social atmosphere in China and the confidence are really low, and for Hangzhou these Asian Games are just a cash-burning project,” said John Yan, founder of the Chinese media firm Score Sports and a leading football commentator in China. “People care more about their own lives, and the Asian Games are not on the top of their list of concerns. People just don’t care.”

Organisers have not disclosed spending for the games, though the Hangzhou government has said it spent more than 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) in the five years through 2020 on transport infrastructure, stadiums, accommodation and other facilities.—

Published in Dawn, September 22th, 2023