Courtesy: Kuensel On Line


Thailand hammers Bhutan 29-1

by Passang Norbu

Bhutan’s futsal national team lost 29-1 to Thailand in their opening match of 4th Asian indoor and martial arts games (AIMAG) at Incheon, Korea, yesterday.

Bhutan’s Dawa Dhendup scored the first goal of match in the first minute but, thereafter, it was on the receiving end, conceding 14 goals in the first half and another 15 in the second half.

The team and the coach feel that they were not fully prepared to compete internationally in the sport, which is yet to take off in the country.

Futsal is an indoor version of football, with its name derived from Portuguese, which can be translated as ‘indoor football’. It is played between two teams of five players each, of which one is the goalkeeper. The team can have seven substitutes. Lines instead of walls delimit the court area, which is less than half the size of a football ground. The ball used is also much smaller and of less bounce than a football.

Like football the game is played in two qual periods of about 30 minutes each.

“Our players, compared to the opponents were physically small and were dominated easily,” a Bhutan Olympic Committee official said, adding Thai players are all professionals. “Even to practice, our national team use the blacktopped futsal pitch in Changlimithang parking.”

Of the seven groups of three teams each, Bhutan is grouped with Thailand and Malaysia. The 4th AIMAG is a high profile test event for the 17th Asian Games to be held in the same venue of Incheon next year.

With 45 member countries of the Olympic council of Asia, including the SAARC countries, taking part, AIMAG features nine sports of bowling, chess, cue sports (billiards), dance sports (ballroom dancing), electronic sports (video games), futsal, go (board games), kabaddi, kickboxing, kurash (wrestling), muay (martial arts) and short course swimming.

Bhutan is only participating in futsal and will face Malaysia tomorrow. The games conclude on July 6.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com