Asian Games Football: India Suffer Humiliating 5-1 Defeat Against China

It didn't take long for Indian men's football team to unravel. Following a tumultous preparation to the 2023 Asian Games, they landed in China 24 hours before their group opener against the hosts. After 90 minutes, Sunil Chhetri & Co. were left reeling... a 5-1 defeat against China with Tao Qianglong hitting a brace. For India, KP Rahul briefly restored parity after India conceded an early goal and Gurmeet Singh's face-saving penalty save on Tuesday at the sprawling Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou. India face next Bangladesh on Thursday. Earlier today, 10-man Myanmar defeated Bangladesh by a solitary goal. Top two teams and four best third finishers after the end of group stage move to knock-outs. Relive the India vs China football match. (More Sports News)

6:55pm: A corner for India in the 90th minute. Too little, too late. Poor effort. Four minutes added. China then complete th rout. Result was beyond doubt, but the hosts not resting on laurels. Another goal, this time from Fang Hao. It's 5-1. And over.

6:37pm: Two goals in three minutes for Tao Qianglong. Scrappy goal, and China have it under control. Too fast for Indian defenders. IND 1-4 CHN (75')

6:34pm: Another long ranger, forcing Gurmeet to a desperate diving save. But he fails to hold onto the ball, and from the rebound, Tao Qianglong, who scored against India, slots home with ease. IND 1-3 CHN (71')

6:30pm: Finally, some good movement from India. Win a corner in the 69th minute, but poor delivery from Rahul KP. The striker then engaged in a tussle. China still lead 2-1.

6:11pm: 50th minute, and a long ranger beats Indian goalkeeper. Defernders in front of him lathergic. China restore one goal lead, thanks to Jiang Shenglong. IND 1-2 CHN

6:05pm: Players back for second half.

5:49pm: Three minute added. A good spell for India. And in the first minute of the added time, Rahul KP makes it 1-1 for with a fine finish. Expect a thrilling second half.

5:25pm: Trouble for India. Gurmeet commits a late tackle, and penalty. But the goalie redeems himself with a stunning safe. China, in the ensuing play, win back-to-back corners. It's still 1-0 in favour of China. 25 minutes so far.

5:18pm: India wilt under Chinese pressure. Gao Tianyi slots home from a corner. Poor defending from India. India 0-1 China (Tianyi 16')

4:41pm: Starting XIs

India: Gurmeet Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Lalchungnunga, Sumit Rathi, Abdul Rabeeh, Ayush Chhetri, Amarjit Singh, Rahul KP, Bryce Miranda, Sunil Chhetri, Rahim Ali

China: Jiaqi Han, Yang Liu, Shenglong Jiang, Chenjie Zhu, Zhenao Wang, Haoyang Xu, Haijian Wang, Tianyi Gao, Qianglong Tao, Weijun Dai, Long Tean

4:15pm: Hasan Murad scored the alll-important goal in the Group a opener to help 10-man Myanmar beat Bangladesh 1-0.

2:48pm: In Group A's first game between Bangladesh and Myanmar at Xiaoshan Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, the first-half remains goalless. A draw would augur well for India.

2:31pm: For head coach Igor Stimac, the match against China holds little importance. The Croat already said that Indian team's preparation, or the lack of it, is not suitable. The focus will be on the fitures against Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"Having two days preparation prior to big games never served us well... It's obvious how India is different when there is long camp versus a short camp," Stimac said before the team's departure for the Asiad.

1:26pm: Here's the India men's U-23 squad for the Asian Games

Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Moirengthem, Gurmeet Singh, Vishal Yadav;
Defenders: Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Konsham, Lalchungnunga, Narender Gehlot, Sumit Rathi, Deepak Tangri;
Midfielders: Amarjit Kiyam, Samuel James Lyngdoh, Rahul KP, Abdul Rabeeh, Ayush Dev Chhetri, Bryce Miranda, Azfar Noorani, Vincy Barretto;
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri (c), Rahim Ali, Gurkirat Singh, Aniket Jadhav

12:31pm: The Indian national men's hockey team left for Asian Games. India are in Pool A, alongside Pakistan, Japan, Bangladesh, Singapore and Uzbekistan. The Harmanpreet Singh-led outfit will begin their campaign against Uzbekistan on September 24. It will be followed by fixtures against Singapore, Japan and Pakistan on September 26, 28 and 30 respectively. They will play their last group stage match against Bangladesh on October 2.

The team includes goalkeepers PR Sreejesh and Krishan Pathak; defenders Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Sanjay. The midfield will be anchored by Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sumit and Shamsher Singh, while the attack will be led by Abhishek, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.

Pool B consists of Korea, Malaysia, China, Oman, Thailand, and Indonesia.

10:47am: All of 19, Indian rifle shooter Nischal won silver in the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the ISSF World Cup in Rio De Janeiro late on Monday. In the process, she gave India its second medal on the concluding day of the tournament.