The Indian National Men’s football team on Thursday was knocked out of the Asian Games 2023 after being defeated by Saudi Arabia 2-0 in their round of 16 match at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou. Mohammed Khalil Marran starred for Saudi Arabia, scoring back-to-back goals in the 51st and 57th minute to see his team through to the quarter-finals.
En route to the knockouts, Sunil Chhetri and Co. lost to China 5-1 in the opener before beating Bangladesh 1-0 and holding Myanmar to a 1-1 draw. India finished second in Pool A behind China to seal a pre-quarterfinal spot. As for Saudi Arabia, they finished second in Pool B behind Iran with two wins and a draw.
Saudi Arabia enjoyed the majority of the ball possession throughout the match, forcing the Indian side to resort to defense and counterattacks. The Arabs managed to carve out two decent chances to score around the 15-minute mark, but could not convert.
Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri tried to take charge, taking the ball into the opponent’s half, and firing a shot at the goal went that went straight to the Saudi goalkeeper. He made another promising attempt minutes later, as his free-kick found Sandesh Jhingan, but the Indian defender’s header was cleared from the goal line.
The Saudi Arabians shifted gears immediately and almost ended up scoring the opening goal when Musab Al-Juwayr’s right-footed shot beat the Indian custodian Dheera,j but the shot was deflected off the woodwork. The onslaught continued in the Indian half with frequent waves of attacks which the Indian defenders somehow managed to clear off to keep the scoreline level.
In the dying minutes of the first half, Saudi Arabia came close to scoring the opening goal when Zakaria Hawsawi broke into the Indian half and shot at goal only for Sandesh Jinghan to come up with a decisive block. The first half eventually ended with a goalless draw.
The second half kicked off with Saudi Arabia maintaining the attacking gameplay and the Indians found it difficult to cope. After about five minutes of constant pressure, Saudi Arabia finally managed to take the lead through Mohammed Khalil Marran, who headed a cross past the Indian custodian Dheeraj Singh, getting the opening goal for his team in the 51st minute.
Mohammed Khalil Marran soon doubled the lead for his team after six minutes when he received a through ball inside the Indian box before sidestepping the Indian keeper to slot it into the back of the net. At 57 minutes, Saudi Arabia was comfortably leading at 2 goals to nil. Understanding the solid lead and control over the match, the Saudi Arabian team played comfortably throughout the remainder of the game and saw off the win to progress to the final eight of the tournament.
The defeat marked the end of Team India’s Asian Games 2023 campaign. The team has previously won the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1951 and 1962. The last time the Indian team reached the round of 16 was in 2010 when they were destroyed 5-0 by Japan, who ended up winning the gold, both with the Men’s and Women’s squads, the only country in Asian Games history to do so.
