S. Korea To Miss Olympics First Time In 40 Years After U23 Asian Cup Quarters Elimination
DOHA, April 26 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Indonesia triumphed over South Korea in a dramatic 12-round penalty shootout after the match ended 2-2 in regular time, during the U23 AFC Asian Cup quarterfinal on Thursday.
This tournament also serves as a qualification event for the Paris Olympics. The top three teams from the U23 Asian Cup will automatically qualify for the Olympics, while the team finishing fourth will engage in a play-off against Guinea for the final Olympic spot.
In its debut appearance at the tournament, the Indonesian team advanced to the semifinals. The loss for South Korea means they will miss the Olympics for the first time in 40 years, a significant departure from their usual strong performances, said Xinhua.
Indonesia took an early lead with Rafael Struick scoring in the 15th minute. However, the lead was short-lived as an own goal by Komang Teguh levelled the score just before half-time. Struick then added his second goal during stoppage time at the end of the first half.
South Korea managed to equalise in the 84th minute through Jeong Sang-bin, despite being a man down after Lee Young-jun received a red card in the 70th minute.
The penalty shootout extended to a gruelling 12 rounds, where Lee Kang-hee's miss for South Korea set the stage for Pratama Arhan to score the decisive penalty for Indonesia.
On the same day, Japan secured their semifinal spot by defeating host nation Qatar 4-2.
-- BERNAMA-XINHUA
