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AFC Asian Cup qualifier: India beats Hong Kong after 29 years

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India beats Hong Kong after 29 years
India beats Hong Kong after 29 years

India, who had already had their 2023 AFC Asian Cup berth booked, finished qualifying campaign with a thorough 4-0 win over Hong Kong on Tuesday at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. A goal each by Anwar Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh and Ishan Pandita assisted India with finishing their campaign on a high.

Thanks to goals from Anwar, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh and Ishan Pandita, India covered off their notable AFC Asian Cup qualification campaign in style, clearing to the side areas of strength for a Kong side 4-0 under heavy downpours at the Salt Lake Stadium.

Igor Stimac’s side drew out its A game on a blustery evening and got going with a barrage as Anwar (2′) and Chhetri (45′) gave India a 2-0 lead.

It was then a story of super subs as Manvir (85th) and Pandita (90+3rd) fell off the seat to finish the defeat and help India (nine points) top group D with three successes on the run, ahead of Hong Kong (six).

“The kind of form we are in, it will be great to pay here. Very satisfied with the performance of the team. Really happy that we got nine points from three games. Feels good. The last one is past and we really want to do the best and it is paramount for us that we keep performing at the Asia level,” said Sunil Chhetri.

“The boys are amazing. You got Suresh, you got Akash. You have a lot of young ones coming up and Ishan, look what he did, playing 10 minutes in that rain is not that easy,” he added.