Qatar beat Japan 37:28 in the Asian Games on Thursday morning. Both sides had won their opening two fixtures, each finishing on four points. The hosts drop to second while Japan hold top spot.
Qatar's victory came after a heavy 40:17 win over Hong Kong and a 30:25 victory against China. Japan, meanwhile, had pulled off a 44:17 thrashing of the same Hong Kong side and edged past China 31:27. To be fair, both teams looked sharper this time around.
By then the gap in the table mattered less than the result itself. Qatar needed something more than the comfortable wins they'd accumulated. Japan had been outscoring opponents but this was a different kind of test.
The final scoreline tells you where this one went. Thirty-seven goals for the hosts, twenty-eight for the visitors. Not the kind of margin you recover from when you're chasing a top-four finish.
