Women prepare for Olympic qualifiers

The Asian qualifiers that start in March have three phrases until September to determine the two teams that will represent Asia.

Viet Nam is in group A of the draw, which comprises Thailand, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar.

Group A and seven other teams – India, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Iran, Palestine and Jordan – from groups B and C will take part in the inaugural phase of qualification that kicks off o­n March 8 and winds up o­n March 27.

Group A will play their matches in Chinese Taipei (Kaohsiung City) while Bangladesh (Dhaka) will host the Group B games. Jordan (Zerqa City) will play host to Group C.

The top two teams from Groups A and C and the winners of Group B (five teams) will advance to the second round of qualifiers, which is a o­ne-round league format and takes place from June 3-12.

The winners of this qualification round will join Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Australia for the final qualification round that will take place from September 1-11. The six teams will play a o­ne-round league format. The top two teams in the final round of qualifiers will represent Asia at the 2012 London Olympics.

Hosts for the second qualification round will come from among the participating teams while the final qualification round hosts will be decided between Australia North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and o­ne potential participating member association. — VNS