Sports
India see off Afghans
Kamalpreet Singh Grewal and Anirudh Thapa scored on either side of the break to give India a 2-0 win over Afghanistan in the Saff U-19 Championship here at the Anfa Complex on Sunday.Kamalpreet Singh Grewal and Anirudh Thapa scored on either side of the break to give India a 2-0 win over Afghanistan in the Saff U-19 Championship here at the Anfa Complex on Sunday.
The victory saw India go top of the Pool ‘B’ on goal difference. Afghanistan, who ended their pool game with one win and a loss, also have three points and await Tuesday’s match between India and Maldives to know their fate.
India will advance as Group ‘B’ winners if they beat Maldives, and also take Afghanistan along with them to the last four. But if Maldives win, goal difference will come into play as all three teams will finish tied at three points.
Grewal put India ahead early in the 11th minute, heading home a freekick from Lalramzauva Khingte. India finally settle their nerves when Thapa added the second five minutes from time. Thapa ran into the Afghan area, rounded off goalie to double the lead. Afghanistan had to play the final few minutes with a man down as goalkeeper Ohammad Nawid Afghan was sent in the 90th minute.
India coach Syed Sabir Pasa said he had anticipated the match to be fiercely contested, owing to the physical strength of the Afghanistan players. Pasa also said that Afghanistan had the advantage of playing in the turf while it was their first game. “I hope we can excel in our next match,” said the India coach. Afghanistan coach Hayatullah Lgarwal said his team could not replicate the performance of the first half after resumption.
Meanwhile, the home team Nepal take on Bangladesh on Monday in a match that will determine the Pool ‘A’ winners. Both teams are already assured of the semi-final berths after Bangladesh beat Bhutan on Saturday. The second successive defeat saw Bhutan crash out of the tournament with two losses.
Nepal pin their hopes on their influential skipper Bimal Gharti Magar, who struck a hat-trick in their 3-1 win over Bhutan on Thursday, to make it to title match. But Nepal coach Bal Gopal Maharjan cautioned his boys not to depend entirely on their skipper, who is also a member of the senior national team.