India suffer 0-3 thrashing against Iran in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

September 9, 2015

Bangalore, Sep 9: India on Tuesday slumped to their third successive loss in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as they suffered a 0-3 thrashing at the hands of mighty Iran in a group match.

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Lacking in international exposure and vastly inferior in technique as compared to their more fancied rivals, the Indians put up a gritty fight in the first half but broke down later by conceding two quick goals in the early part of the second session in the Group D match at Kanteerava Stadium.

The good work from the central defenders Arnab Mondal and Sandesh Jhingan ensured that India trailed just 0-1 at half time but the Asian heavyweights, the highest ranked team in the continent, pumped in two goals in the space of four minutes to kill the game at that stage itself.

Sardar Azmoun (29th), Andranik (47th) and Mehdi Taromi (51st) were the goal scorers as Iran broke the Indian defence gradually as the game progressed. The visiting side, coached by Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, could have scored more had they utilised the chances that came their way.

On the other hand, the Indians did not have even a clear look at the Iran goal as the visitors completely dominated the match. The Indians could string together very few threatening moves and they had to desperately defend their citadel for most part of the match.

To be fair to the Indians, who are ranked 155th in the FIFA charts as against the visiting side's 40th, maintained the shape in defence to deny the Iranians' incessant attack for a large part of the match.

With the loss on Tuesday, India are yet to open their account in the qualifying round. They have lost to Oman and Guam in their earlier matches. Iran, on the other hand, jumped to the top of the group with seven points from three matches.

India next play Turkmenistan in an away match on October 8.

India coach Stephen Constantine made two changes to the side that drew goalless against Nepal. Goalkeeper Subrata Paul was surprisingly made to warm the bench in favour of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu while Arnab Mondal was named for Francis Fernandes.

The home side lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with captain Sunil Chhetri leading the attack alongside Jeje Lalpekhlua and Robin Singh while Jhingan and Mondal helmed the defence. Jhingan and Mondal had excellent games but the other two in defence -- Pritam Kotal and Narayan Das -- were off colour.

Iran made repeated forays from the left side through Vahid Amiry. It was his cross that created confusion in Indian defence and Mondal's clearance went just inches away from being an own goal.

Iran's continued pressure paid off at the half hour mark when striker Azmoun, known as Iranian Messi, placed his header perfectly in the far corner from Teymourian's free-kick to give the away side the lead.

A few minutes later Eugeneson Lyngdoh's attempted bicycle kick was blocked by an Iranian defender.

Iran continued from where they left off and within minutes of the restart doubled their lead. Dejagah's high shot towards the far post was completely misread by both Narayan and Gurpreet who thought the ball had crossed the goal-line.

This allowed Taremi to head it back into play for his captain Teymourian to drill the ball into the right corner with Gurpreet caught flat footed.

The home side's defence that put up a gritty fight in the first half looked out of sorts as the Iranians made it a one-sided match with their pace and power.

Mehdi Taremi then inflicted more misery on Constantine's men as he made it 3-0 in the 51st minute after some sloppy defending from India once more.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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Agencies
June 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 4: Indian men's hockey team defender Harmanpreet Singh is delighted and honoured to be nominated for the Arjuna Award by Hockey India.

The Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award while her compatriots Vandana Katariya, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh have been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

"I was extremely delighted to hear the news. It's an honour to be nominated for the Arjuna Award and I am sure the nomination will motivate me to perform even better in the upcoming years. All of us have received tremendous support from Hockey India over the years and I was extremely happy to know that Rani has been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Vandana Katariya and Monika have been nominated for the Arjuna Award. They have put up some brilliant performances in the recent past and I would like to extend my congratulations to them," Harmanpreet said.

The 24-year-old dragflick sensation stepped up his role in the team and shouldered the responsibility of vice-captain with aplomb. As a defender-dragflicker, he was instrumental in the team's winning performance in the FIH Series Finals in Odisha. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event, he captained the team to victory in the absence of Manpreet Singh who was rested for the tournament.

Harmanpreet was also part of the Indian team that won the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers against Russia last year. Harmanpreet said that he has been able to perform for the team only because of the support he has received from his teammates.

"I am very happy with the way I have been contributing to the team in the last couple of years. However, I have been able to come up with the goods only because of the way my teammates have supported me. Hockey is a team sport and all of us ensure that we are contributing to the team's cause in some way or the other. If we score a goal, then it's not only the goal scorer, who takes the credit, but the entire team is credited for a particular effort," said the defender.

Harmanpreet added that booking a place in the Tokyo Olympic Games was the biggest achievement for the team in 2019.

"It was simply amazing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in front of our home crowd last year. I will cherish the memory forever. The balance of our side was fantastic and everyone chipped in to make the tournament a memorable one. Now, we will give everything we can to come up with great results at the Olympics next year. It's our sole target at the moment and all of us are up for the challenge. Hopefully, we will become a much better side once we play our first match in Tokyo," he said.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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