DOHA: Qatar on Sunday produced a fighting 1-1 draw against Syria to secure a berth at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup finals to be held in Chinanext year. In the last match of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifying event, Qataropened the scoring through Sultan Al Bareik who found theSyrian net with a spectacular direct free-kick in the 37th minute. Syria equalised in the 60th minute when Mohammed Rafat Muhtadi beatQatar defenders with a slick snap-header under lights as Jassim BinHamad Stadium. Earlier in the day at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, India beatTurkmenistan 3-1 to finish third in the four-nation qualifying event. Despite the draw on Sunday, Syria also qualified for the China finals. While group winners Qatar (7 points) automatically qualified for theAFC U-23 Championship, Syria finished the Doha event in second spotwith 5 points. According to AFC rules, the five best runners-up across all groupswill also qualify for the finals. However, if hosts China win theirgroup or are among the best five runners-up, the sixth best runner-up will also qualify.