Briefs-Afghanistan move closer to 2011 Asian Cup berth
Sat May 10, 2008 7:20am BST
May 10 (Reuters) - Sports news in brief from around the world:

Soccer - Afghanistan moved a step closer to reaching their first Asian Cup on Friday after securing a place at this year's Challenge Cup finals, a qualifying event for the tournament.

The Afghans took four points from their two matches to win their qualifying group in Kyrgyzstan and book a place in the eight-team Challenge Cup in July and August.

They join Group A winners Sri Lanka and automatic qualifiers North Korea, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and hosts India.

The winner of the 2008 and 2010 editions of the Challenge Cup, contested by Asia's lowest-ranked countries, earn a berth at the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar.

Soccer - Lebanon has indefinitely postponed the remainder of its league season with two weeks left after the country was hit by fighting between pro-government gunmen and Hezbollah guerrillas.

At least 18 people have been killed and 38 wounded in three days of fighting, the worst internal conflict in the country since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Taekwondo - Athens Olympics bronze medallist Yaowapa Boorapolchai has retired after a foot injury ruled her out of trials for the Beijing Games, Thai media reported.

Yaowapa, the Asian champion, is the only Thai to win an Olympic medal in a sport other than boxing or weightlifting.

Soccer - Syria have put their league season on hold to allow players to prepare for their packed 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, the Asian Football Confederation said.

Syria, the surprise package of Asian qualifying, will play four games in three weeks next month. The part-timers are undefeated in all six of their matches so far, including a draw away to regional heavyweights Iran. (Compiled by Martin Petty; Editing by John O'Brien)