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Asian Cup: Troussier Quits, Underdogs Bite Qatar were upset 2-1 by Indonesia in their opening Asian Cup match on yesterday, a day after Philippe Troussier said he would quit as coach of the Gulf side following the tournament. "We dominated possession but regretfully we lacked a killer touch in front of goal," said Troussier. "It's cruel. This deficiency is very cruel." Budi Sudarsono pounced in the 26th minute to put Indonesia ahead in the Group A game played at a virtually empty stadium in Beijing. Ponaryo Astaman blasted a second with a superb dipping shot from 25 metres four minutes into the second half. Substitute Magid Mohamed pulled one back for Qatar in the 85th minute but it was too late to prevent Indonesia going top of the group with three points. Hosts China were held 2-2 by Bahrain in the opening game of the tournament on Saturday. Frenchman Troussier, who led Japan to the Asian Cup title four years ago and took the co-hosts to the second round of the 2002 World Cup, signed a lucrative two-year deal with Qatar in July 2003. However, Qatar finished a disappointing third in the Gulf Cup this year and have lost to Jordan and Iran in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. Qatar's build-up to the Asian Cup was also plagued by controversy. Midfielder Jafal Rashid received a nine-month ban for a doping violation and Troussier was thwarted by FIFA in his bid to recruit Brazilian players Ailton, Dede and Leandro. Troussier insisted his decision to step down early had been made some time ago. "We should not confuse the issue here. It is a decision I took a long time ago," said the 49-year-old, without elaborating on why he had decided to leave halfway through his contract. "The players are very receptive and have made progress. That's not the reason." Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

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