Saudi Arabia’s Hamad named Asia’s top player
KUALA LUMPUR: Saudi Arabia defender Hamad Al Montashari was named Asian Player of the Year yesterday and Japan were crowned Team of the Year at an awards ceremony overshadowed by controversy.
The Al Ittihad star beat off the challenge of Uzbekistan’s Dynamo Kiev striker Maksim Shatskikh for a title diminished by the exclusion of most of Asia’s best players because they could not travel to Kuala Lumpur.
An Asian Football Confederation (AFC) dictate that a player must attend the ceremony to be eligible for the award ruled out Manchester United star Park Ji-Sung and his South Korean teammate Lee Young-pyo of Tottenham Hotspur.
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Saudi Arabian is Asia's footballer of the year
Hamad Al Montashari of Saudi Arabia won the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year award amid controversy, after prominent players from Japan, South Korea and Iran were deemed ineligible for the region's highest individual accolade.
The award was presented in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday evening to the 23-year-old defender, who earlier this year helped his country to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals and his club Al Ittihad to win the AFC Champions League.
He beat Uzbekistan's striker Maksim Shatskikh, the only other contender for the honour. Al Montashari's Saudi national teammate Sami
Japans soccer team loses to Saudi Arabia in Asia Cup qualifying
Japans soccer team lost to Saudi Arabia 1-0 on Sunday in a qualifier for the 2007 Asia Cup.
Japan looked to be getting on top in the first half when forward Tatsuya Tanaka and midfielder Yasuhito Endo launched shots on goal, but Saudi Arabias goalkeeper saved the day.
Saudi Arabia scored its match-winning goal in the 73rd minute when Saleh Bashir collected a deflected ball inside the area before steering his shot past goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.
Even without any pressure, we often gave the ball to our opponents. We played like children, said
Bhutia named captain for Asia Cup
Mercurial striker Baichung Bhutia, though struggling with injury, was on Monday named captain of the 24-member Indian team for the AFC Asia Cup qualifying round match against Japan to be played at Yokohama on February 22.
The team will also travel to Hong Kong for a friendly with the hosts. The squad was picked from a pool of 28 players who sweated it out in a camp under chief coach Syed Naeemuddin.
The team comprises three goalkeepers, seven defenders, six midfielders and four strikers, besides four standbys.
Straddled with injury, the team was sans Climax Lawrence, Samir Naik
PanAmSat Named Best Satellite Carrier at 2006 Telecom Asia Awards
PanAmSat has received a top honor from Telecom Asia magazine. The publication awarded PanAmSat with the Best Satellite Carrier award at the 2006 Telecom Asia Awards, held in Phuket, Thailand, on April 24. PanAmSat was selected for the award due to its market leadership, innovations in technology and services as well as its strong financial performance in one of the worlds most challenging telecommunications markets.
PanAmSat has been dedicated to serving the Asia-Pacific region with world-class satellite services for more than 10 years, said David Ball, PanAmSats vice president for Asia Pacific,
Blatter backs Socceroos to lift Asia
FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes Australian soccers move into Asia could spur the region out of its World Cup slump.
Australia qualified for the finals from its old Oceania Confederation but played in Germany as a member of the more competitive Asian Confederation.
The Socceroos were the only Asian side to move beyond the first round of the finals, with Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Australias group F rival and Asian champion Japan all eliminated.
Blatter said the performance of the Asian nations was a concern.The other four Asian teams all kicked out in the first round,
