Chinese Taipei downed India 2-1, while Myanmar crushed the Philippines 4-1 in the qualifying round of the AFC Women's Championship on Tuesday.

Twenty minutes into the match, Chinese Taipei midfielder Lan Mei-fen converted a powerful free kick outside the penalty area into the opening goal.

Fifteen minutes later, Indian midfielder Oinam Bem-bem Devi equalized the score with a penalty.

Then, Chinese Taipei forward Lin Yuhui scored one by a blitz shot from the right wing after latching onto a short pass in the penalty area, giving her team a 2-1 lead.

In the second half, the two teams continued applying defense-attack tactics. Chinese Taipei had an upper hand with series of rapid attacks, forcing Indian goalkeeper Lourembam Chanu to make several saves.

The score of 2-1 remained unchanged to the end of the match.

Chinese Taipei had better way of playing and better quality players, India's coach Harjinder Singh said after the match. He also expressed his hope that his team will better perform in next matches.

After six matches, in group A, Vietnam and Myanmar had three points each, ahead of the Philippines on zero; in group B, India and Chinese Taipei had three points each, Guam zero; in group C, Uzbekistan had three points, Maldives zero; and in group D, Indonesia and Singapore had one point each.

The qualifying round of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Women's Championship, taking in Vietnam's Hanoi capital from June 12-20, features 12 teams. The top four teams and four automatic finalists, namely China, Japan, South Korea and Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will enter the final round slated for May 2006 in Japan.

Source: Xinhua