New Delhi: Indian men’s football team have kept their Asian Games 2023 medal hopes alive after getting a hard-fought 1-0, victory against Bangladesh.
The veteran Indian footballer, Sunil Chhetri, was the lone goal scorer for India, after converting a penalty in the 85th minute of the game.
1️⃣ Calm Penalty ✅
3️⃣ Crucial Points ✅ @chetrisunil11’s goal from the penalty spot was enough to give the #BlueTigers 🐯 their first win in the #19thAsianGames 💙#INDBAN ⚔️ #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/nuHNhN07b3— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 21, 2023
Bryce Miranda, a left winger, received a long pass on the perimeter of the opposing box in the 85th minute. Rahmat Mia, the captain of Bangladesh, fouled the winger, and India was given a penalty.
India gained a late 1-0 lead as captain Sunil Chhetri stepped up and buried the ball into the bottom-left corner.
The first half went goalless after the Bangladeshi goalkeeper, Mutul, managed to stop the barrage of attacks from the Indian forwards, giving the Blue Tigers a run for their money.
A critical victory for Igor Stimac’s team allowed them to maintain their advantage and advance to the knockout rounds.
Earlier, on Tuesday, India lost their match against the hosts China by a huge margin of 4 goals to one and was forced to play the rest of their group stage matches as do-or-die matches.
India was drawn into ‘Group A,’ alongside hosts China, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
India will now play their final group stage match against Myanmar on September 24, with a place in the quarterfinals on the line.
