Sri Lanka force Qatar to draw

Sri Lanka forced Qatar to a 1-1 draw in the 2nd match of the opening day of the Islami Bank Asian Games Hockey Qualifiers at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in the city Saturday, reports UNB.

Forward Aslam Adnan scored for Qatar in the first half while midfielder Sanadaruwan Priyalanka restored the parity for Sri Lanka in the 2nd half.

Qatar took lead in the 25th minute through a combined attack.  Midfielder Ali Sheraj saw his fierce hit rebound off the pad of Ishara Madhushanka and unmarked forward Aslam Adnan unleashed a fierce hit to score the goal (1-0).

Sri Lanka reacted sharply and initiated a series of attacks but lack of good finishing ended in failures.

In the 33rd minute, Shanaka Nandaslochana missed an open net with one to one situation with the Qatari goalie Ali Shazad.

In the 44th minute, Sanadaruwan Priyalanka saw his hit miss the side post by a whisker.

Three minutes later, Chulalankara Asanka's slap hit was saved by Shahzad.

In the 67th minute, Sri Lankan midfielder Sanadaruwan Priyalanka equalized the margin with a reverse hit from the edge of the box (1-1).