The draw for team sports at the 2nd Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, from August 16-24 took place at the organising committee HQ on Wednesday afternoon. In the presence of the OCA’s Asian Games department director, Haider Farman, the draws for 3 x 3 basketball (boys and girls), football (boys), handball (boys and girls) and rugby sevens (boys and girls) were conducted by the technical delegates or technical officials from the relevant sport governing bodies in Asia and China.
Qi Lu, Executive Deputy Secretary General for NAYGOC, described the occasion as a “very important and significant milestone” for the organisers, OCA, NOCs, Asian sports federations and other stakeholders on the road to the opening ceremony in 51 days’ time, He added that, at the close of the Entry by Name at midnight on June 25, a total of 2,391 athletes had been entered by 42 NOCs, comprising of 1,536 male athletes and 855 female.
Mr Farman said the OCA was confident and convinced that Nanjing would provide the best conditions and services for the athletes this August, and that the success of the AYG would reflect on the success of the IOC’s 2nd Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in August 2014.
“The draw today is a signal for the teams to be ready for the upcoming AYG,” he said. “Together we will work hand in hand and in close cooperation for the remaining 51 days to achieve the best results for the Games.”
The draws were as follows:
Handball
Men
Group A: Qatar, Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan.
Group B: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Mongolia, China.
Group C: Bahrain, Kuwait, Chinese Taipei, Thailand.
Group D: Korea, Syria, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan.
Women (round-robin)
Ranking: Korea, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, China.
3 x 3 Basketball
Girls
Group A: Thailand, Kuwait, Iraq, Chinese Taipei, Jordan.
Group B: Uzbekistan, Palestine, Indonesia, China.
Top two in each group advance to the semi-finals.
Boys
Group A: Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Palestine, Uzbekistan.
Group B: Iraq, Iran, Macau, Bangladesh, Korea.
Group C: Philippines, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Maldives.
Group D: Mongolia, Jordan, Malaysia, China.
Top two in each group advance to the quarter-finals.
Football
Boys
Group A: China, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Qatar.
Group B: Korea (defending champions), Singapore, Iraq, Kuwait.
Group C: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Indonesia.
Group D: DPR Korea, Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Vietnam.
Top two in each group advance to the quarter-finals.
Rugby Sevens
Men
Group A: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Thailand, Kazakhstan.
Group B: Hong Kong, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines.
Top four teams in each group quality for quarter-finals.
Women
(Round-robin): China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Thailand.
Top four teams qualify for semi-finals.
source: www.ocasia.org