Iran women advance in Olympic qualifier

PTV – ZARQA, Iran has defeated Bahrain to advance to the next round of the qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympics Women’s Football Tournament.

The Iranian women footballers beat Bahrain 2-0 on Saturday in the Jordanian city of Zarqa to clinch first place in Group C with seven points and book a place in the next round of the qualifiers.

Maryam Rahimi scored both goals for the Iranian team.

Iran, which pummeled Palestine 4-0 in its opener, held the host Jordan 1-1 on Thursday.

The top two teams from Group C and Group A as well as the winners of Group B advance to the second round of qualifiers, which is a one-round league format slated for June 3 to 12.

The winners of the second round will join the top five teams of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games — Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea, and Australia — in the final round to be played from September 1 to 11.

The top two finishers will represent Asia at the 2012 London Olympics.