Malditas open bid in Olympic qualifier tonite

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Malditas continue their quest for Tokyo 2020 as they vie in the second round of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Asian Qualifiers starting tonight in Doha, Qatar.

The Malditas face Iran in Group C at 7 p.m. at the Grand Hamad Stadium (1 a.m. Thursday in Manila), seeking a flying start in the competition where only the group winners will move on to the Third Round of the Continental Qualifiers.

After the Iranians, the Pinay booters take on Chinese Taipei on April 6 then Palestine on April 9.

Coach Let Dimzon has formed a pool of 23 players for this mission, with overseas-based Stacey Cavill from Perth Glory in Australia, and Patricia Tomanon (Florida International U), Eva Madarang (Rogers State U), Tara Shelton (Hloy Names Academy) and Calah Simarago (UC Sta. Barbara) from the US joining Phl-based booters led by Sara Castaneda of La Salle.

Phl XI, which reached Round 2 after finishing second behind the Taiwanese in one of the groups in the opening round, hopes to sustain its gains and learn from exposure in the tough competitions as it gears up later on for the Southeast Asian Games on home ground.