Xtra Time Web Desk: Indian football team suffered a humiliating 1-5 defeat in their first match of the Asian Games 2023 against hosts China at Hangzhou on Tuesday. The Blue Tigers put up a spirited fight in the first half but failed to keep the momentum in the second half as they suffered an embarrassing loss. Despite not being able to train and getting enough time to acclimatize to the conditions, Sunil Chettri and his boys tried their best but lost out to a superior opponent.
China took the lead through Gao T in the 17th minute. Trailing a goal behind, India equalized at the stroke of half-time with Rahul KP scoring an extraordinary goal. Indian goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh saved a penalty as well. At the end of the first half, the score was 1-1.
Igor Stimac’s side could put up a fight in the second half. As the game progressed, China’s dominance became apparent. India conceeded four consecutive goals in the second half. Dai Weijun scored the second goal for China in the 51st minute of the match. The hosts extended the lead through Tao Qulanglong as he scored in the 72nd minute from a rebound after Gurmeet saved a shot. China scored the fourth goal in the 75th minute. Tao Qulanglong was the goal scorer again. Finally India conceeded another goal to suffer an embarrassing 1-5 loss.
India will now face Bangladesh on September 21, knowing that they will have to win to progress to the next stage.