PTI, Hangzhou (China)
The Indian football team suffered a disappointing 1-5 defeat against hosts China in the first group match of the Asian Games on Tuesday. Tao Qianlong (72nd minute and 75th minute) scored two goals for China. So, Giao Tianyi (17th min.), Dei Weijun (51st min.) and Hao Feng contributed by scoring one goal each. Rahul KP scored the only goal from the Indian team who entered the field without preparation in the compensation time of the first session.
For the first 45 minutes of the match, the Indian team challenged China, who were the strong contenders for the title. Meanwhile, Indian Gurmeet Singh Chahal did brilliantly to save Chinese captain Zhu Chenji’s penalty kick. India must now win the remaining two matches to advance to the next round. India will face Bangladesh and Myanmar. India does not have a good striker, and also lacks coordination in the defence. The team looked tired and expectations were not high. So the difference between the two teams was seen.
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Due to the humid environment and lack of practice, the Indian team felt exhausted in the opening half hour and had no answer to the onslaught of the Chinese players. China scored three more goals later, despite Sandesh Xingan’s mistake leading to the second goal. Captain Sunil Chhetri remained in the field for 85 minutes. However, he did not get the support of his colleagues. Rahul KP performed well for India. Rahul, who participated in the Under-17 World Cup, scored the decisive goal for the team. Before that, Giao had led the team. So the match was tied 1-1 till the interval.
Indian men’s volleyball team wins
Indian men’s volleyball team beat Cambodia 3-0. In the Group ‘C’ match, India beat low-ranked Cambodia 25-14, 25-13, 25-19. India will face South Korea, ranked 27th in the world, on Wednesday.