Second round of the 17th Asian Championship brought a new surprise: at the opening game of the group B, United Arab Emirates hampered chances of Saudi Arabia to reach the semi-finals, playing 17:17 (6:7). In the strong match with an outstanding goalkeeping and defensive display on both sides, UAE had chance to win, but Abdulla Albaloushi shot in the final seconds went over the bar.
Iran recovered from the starting defeat, easily overcoming Lebanon 31:26 (16:13). Bahrain showed superiority against Chinese side, creating easy win 41:18 (18:7). Bahraini 3-3 defence and quick offensive play completely blocked Chinese play, so the winner was known even in the early stage of the game.
Bahrain is leader of the group B with 4 points. UAE and Saudi Arabia follow with 3 points, Iran has 2, while China and Lebanon are still looking for the first points.
In the group A, Oman was close to surprise favorites South Korea. In a heart-breaking match, both sides had chances to count the victory. At the end, lady luck smiled to Korea, who managed to save the advantage in the final minutes and won 23:22 (11:12).
Qatar was dominant again, easily passing over Syria with 32:10 (18:6) win. Excellent defensive display was just enough to overcome weak Syrian team.
In the group A, Qatar is topping the table with 4 points, Јаpan and Korea are behind with 2, while Oman and Syria are on level 0 after first two rounds.
