India two good for Kyrgyzstan

Imphal, March 28

India played some inspiring football against higher-ranked Kyrgyzstan to snatch a 2-0 victory and bag the Tri-Nation International Tournament trophy with an all-win record here today. India had earlier defeated Myanmar 1-0.

The opening goal came from centre-back Sandesh Jhingan, who found the target in the 34th minute. India added insurance in the 84th minute with Sunil Chhetri firing home from the spot.

Midfielder Brandon Fernandes put the ball in front of the rival goal off a free-kick and Jhingan pounced on it to find the back of the net to open India’s account in the first half.

India kept launching attacks whenever they had the opportunity, and one such move in the

84th minute saw the Kyrgyzstan defence crumble under pressure as Naorem Mahesh Singh was brought down inside the penalty box by Davydov Nikolai.

The ensuing spot-kick saw Chhetri score his 85th international goal as the striker tucked the ball into the bottom corner. This was India’s fifth straight win on home turf. — PTI

Women concede late goal, lose to Uzbekistan

Tashkent: Hosts Uzbekistan scored a stoppage-time goal to beat India 3-2 in an international friendly here today. Thomas Dennerby’s wards could have earned a 2-2 draw, but Kamila Zaripova’s strike in the second minute of the stoppage time crushed their hopes. Meanwhile, the Indian U-17 team put on a brave display before eventually going down 0-2 to Russia in their final game of the SAFF U-17 Women’s Championship in Dhaka. They finished third on the table, winning two and losing two games in the tournament.