A brave Thailand side went for broke in the last five minutes of the second half to beat Japan 37-33 in a nail-biting encounter in Group B in Ahmedabad on Wednesday and reach the semi-finals, where they will face India on Friday. The win helped Thailand secure top spot in their group with Iran finishing in second place.
Thailand came into the game with a good run of form behind them and there was very little between the two teams. At half-time, the score read 17-17. Thailand fought back to level scores just a minute after being all-out.
Japan won a series of super tackles in the space of a few minutes to open a six point lead at 30-24. Khomsan Thongkam and his fledgling troops launched a terrific onslaught in the last five minutes, which included getting Japan all-out to post a narrow win. In the final Group A game, Bangladesh walloped Argentina 67-26 to finish third in the group.
The first semi-final will be played between Iran and Republic of Korea while Thailand and India battle it out in the second game. Both matches will be played on Friday.
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