The Asian reporter., August 03, 2015, Page Page 9, Image 9

SPORTS
August 3, 2015
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports
Asian teams shine at Women’s World Cup
By Mike Street
Special to The Asian Reporter
hough Asian sports fans were dis-
appointed when the U.S. drubbed
Japan in the Women’s World Cup
championship match, the preliminary
rounds gave them plenty to feel good
about. Japan made it to the final again and
a young Chinese squad showed great
promise, while South Korea had its
moment and Thailand gave fans a taste of
things to come.
Of the five Asian teams that qualified for
the tournament, four (including Australia)
advanced to the knockout round and three
made it to the quarterfinals. Among the
Fédération Internationale de Football
Association’s (FIFA) regional groups, only
Europe had more teams reach the second
round and just three of those seven teams
survived to the quarterfinal round.
Thailand, the lone Asian team that
failed to emerge from the group stage,
played in their first Women’s World Cup in
a very tough group. Predictably, they fell
to both Norway and top-ranked Germany,
but did earn their first World Cup win
against Côte d’Ivoire, one of only two
teams ranked lower than Thailand at the
beginning of the tournament.
After Côte d’Ivoire took the early lead,
forward Orathai Srimanee volleyed home
a beautiful cross from midfielder
Anootsara Maijarern, and then scored
again, heading in an assist from midfielder
Rattikan
Thongsombut.
Forward
Thanatta Chawong scored Thailand’s
third goal, thanks to Maijarern, who drew
the Ivoirian goalkeeper into the corner of
the box, then lofted the ball over the
keeper’s head to Chawong. A late goal from
Côte d’Ivoire didn’t change the outcome of
the match, but Thailand didn’t earn
enough points to advance out of Group B.
The other Asian squads had better for-
tunes. South Korea, in its second Women’s
World Cup, wanted to rebound from its
winless 2003 performance. To do this, the
Taeguk Warriors had to get past Brazil
and Spain, two countries with long and
proud soccer traditions, as well as
newcomer Costa Rica.
Brazil blanked the Warriors, 2-0, but
South Korea showed their offensive
strength against Costa Rica. After falling
behind early, the team scored twice in a
four-minute span on a penalty kick from
forward Soyun Ji and a header from mid-
fielder Gaeul Jeon. But victory was denied
them when Karla Villalobos slipped
behind the defense to score the equalizer
with a minute left in regulation time.
South Korea earned the three points it
needed to advance in a match against
Spain, again coming back to score twice.
T
After an excellent buildup from midfield,
Sohyun Cho scored, spinning in midair to
flick in an athletic header. Defender
Sooyun Kim, looking to set up her
teammates, also scored when her cross
flew directly into the far corner of the net.
Unfortunately, South Korea’s tourna-
ment ended in the first elimination game,
as France dominated the Taeguk
Warriors, hammering home two goals in
the first eight minutes and then adding a
third early in the second half to win with a
3-0 shutout. Despite the tough defeat, the
Warriors look well poised to continue their
recent success.
China, though strong, also drew a
formidable group that featured the
Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealand.
Known for their slow, grinding style,
China held Canada scoreless for more than
90 minutes during the opening match of
the tournament before giving up a penalty
kick with a minute remaining in second-
half stoppage time.
China rallied from the disheartening
loss to stun the Netherlands late in the
next match. After many near-misses and
stellar saves by the opposing goalkeeper,
Lisi Wang scored the game-winner on a
breakaway in second-half stoppage time,
chipping a ball just past the Dutch keeper.
That victory, and the three points it
earned, proved crucial when China battled
New Zealand to a 2-2 draw, and the four
points enabled them to reach the
elimination round.
Facing Cameroon in the Round of 16,
China scored quickly when Shanshan
Weng volleyed a line-drive pass past the
keeper for the game’s only score. China’s
defense stifled the Cameroonian response,
and they advanced to face the United
States. Though they fell to the U.S., 0-1,
China proved the toughest elimination
match for the eventual champs.
The advancement of Japan from group
play surprised no one, not only because
they were the defending champions, but
also because of their draw into a soft group
with
Switzerland,
Ecuador,
and
Cameroon. Japan swept all three teams,
though they won each match by only a
single goal, making some wonder if they
had the ability to advance further.
Japan silenced the critics by grabbing
CANADA 2015. China’s Shanshan Wang (#9)
clears the ball as teammates Haiyan Wu (#5) and
goalkeeper Fei Wang watch during the first half of a
quarterfinal match in the Women’s World Cup soccer
tournament in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Team China
met the United States in the game, including Carli
Lloyd (#10) and Kelley O’Hara (#5). The United
States won the match, 1-0. (Sean Kilpatrick/The
Canadian Press via AP)
the early lead against the Netherlands in
the first elimination match, then adding to
it before surrendering a late goal to make
the game seem closer than it really was.
Australia proved a more formidable foe in
the quarterfinals, as the tournament’s
surprise team contained the Blue Samurai
for most of the game. Japan prevailed,
however, when Mana Iwabuchi, a late
substitution, drove home the winning goal
on a weak clearance.
This defeat seemed crushing for
Australia, but not as heartbreaking as
England’s loss to Japan in the semifinals.
After a tough match that saw the teams
score within seven minutes of one another
late in the first half, it looked like the game
would go into extra time. But in stoppage
time, Azusa Iwashimizu tried to slip a pass
into England’s penalty area, where two of
her teammates were making runs. English
defender Laura Bassett tried to intercept
the pass, only to deflect the ball into the
upper right corner of England’s net,
ending the game with an unfortunate own
goal.
Japan faced a red-hot Carli Lloyd and a
U.S. squad that played incredibly well
together in the final, losing 5-2. Japan’s
performance, however, along with that of
their Asian counterparts, ensured that
Asian teams will electrify future Women’s
World Cups.
Can I get
hummingbirds
to move in too?
Japan to start from scratch on
Tokyo Olympic stadium plan
Continued from page 2
control as the costly stadium was another
headache for Abe’s government, whose
support rating has already fallen over
unpopular defense legislation and gaffes
by his party members.
Hadid’s office blamed soaring construc-
tion costs in Tokyo and a tight deadline.
“It is not the case that the recently
reported cost increases are due to the
design, which uses standard materials and
techniques well within the capability of
Japanese contractors, and meets the
budget set by the Japan Sports Council,”
Jim Heverin, project director of Zaha
Hadid Architects, said in a statement
e-mailed to The Associated Press.
Japan’s top government spokesman,
Yoshihide Suga, said the contract with
Hadid would be cancelled, and a new
international competition would be
completed within six months. A new
project and its estimated cost will then be
announced.
Construction was scheduled to start in
October on Hadid’s design, chosen in 2012
in an international competition. Some
people likened the design to a bicycle
helmet.
Hidetoshi Ohno, a University of Tokyo
architecture professor, said Japan has no
time to waste, but the initial 130 billion
yen budget would be enough to build a
world-class stadium.
The latest cost estimate, a sharp
increase from a 163 billion yen estimate
last year, would have been the world’s
most
expensive
sports
stadium,
surpassing the $1.6 billion MetLife
Stadium in New Jersey.
Associated Press writers Ken Moritsugu and Jim
Armstrong in Tokyo contributed to this story.
A k Metro
Ask
M
about
b
safe and healthy yard care.
oregonmetro.gov/garden
503-234-3000