Uzbeks overpower Qatar

Uzbekistan have beaten Qatar 13-2 in their classification match in the men's water polo tournament at Al-Sadd Aquatic Centre. The experienced Uzbeks simply had too much firepower for the home side and were 7-0 to the good after the first period.

Qatar stemmed the tide as the match wore on and limited their opponents to one goal in the second period, drew the third period 2-2, before losing the final period 3-0. For Uzbekistan, Ravil Valishev was their top player, scoring five goals. Mohammed Hamad and Abdallah Al Shahrani got Qatar's goals.

Uzbekistan now progress to the 5th/6th place classification match on Wednesday 13 December, whilst Qatar must settle for the 7th/8th place match on the same day. Their respective opponents depend upon the outcome of the clash between Saudi Arabia and Korea at 17:00 on Tuesday.

Also today, Hong Kong, China finished in ninth place overall after being awarded a 5-0 forfeit victory over the Philippines, who had earlier withdrawn from the tournament. Before they were awarded the win, Hong Kong, China needed to be present for a period of 20 minutes, after which the pool announcers read a script apologising to spectators. This scenario has occurred each time the Philippines were due to play, as the original tournament schedule was not redrawn.

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006