Pak Women crash out of Olympic Qualifiers

KARACHI: Pakistan crashed out when they were conquered by Hong Kong 2-0 in their Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 Asian Qualifiers Round 1 Group E game at Hisor in Tajikistan on Saturday.

Second half substitutes Chu Po Yan and Lau Yun Yi struck one goal apiece to secure Hong Kong their second consecutive victory.

Pakistan were aiming to recover from their 4-0 defeat against Philippines on the opening day and they did a fine job against buoyant Hong Kong as the score remained 0-0 going into the break.

Hong Kong, who claimed a 3-0 win over Tajikistan on Wednesday, finally found a way through the Pakistan defence with Chu Po Yan’s 73rd minute strike before Lau Yun Yi doubled their lead in the closing stages to seal the win.

Hong Kong play Philippines on Tuesday while Pakistan will aim to pull off a consolation win against Tajikistan. The seven group winners from Round 1 will continue their quest in Round 2 which is expected to commence in October.

In the next round, they will be joined by the five highest seeded teams including DPR Korea, Japan, Australia, China and Korea Republic and divided into three groups.

Four teams including the three group winners and the best-ranked runners-up will then progress to Round 3 to play two pairs of home and away matches slated for February 2024 with the eventual winners qualifying for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024.