As a result, India ended the tournament in sixth place after a victory in the group stage against Turkmenistan and losses at the hands of Romania and Uzbekistan.

The first 45 minutes failed to produce any goals, with India enjoying the lion’s share of the chances. The Indian forwards created a flurry of chances in the first 25 minutes – with Sanju, Dangmei Grace and Indumathi all coming close to scoring the opener but were denied by the Kazakh defence.

In the 33rd minute, the Indian eves put the ball in the back of the net, only for the referee to rule out the effort for offside. Kazakhstan threatened the Indian goal in the first half on a couple of occasions, most notably in the 45th minute, but Indian custodian Aditi Chauhan was up to the task and saved a shot from a close-range free-kick.

The second half saw coach Maymol Rocky’s charges come out fired up as they hunted for the go-ahead goal. Dalima Chhibber came close in the 58th minute with a shot from distance and just three minutes later, Ratanbala Devi’s header looked destined for goal but was cleared by the Kazakh defence off the line.

Manisha came on for Anju in the 64th minute and tested the keeper almost immediately with a powerful shot. The Indian side continued to commit players forward as the match headed towards the end but the opening goal still remained elusive. Sanju, Roja Devi and Grace all recorded efforts on goal which, however, did not find the back of the net.

With the game scoreless after regulation time, the players headed for the dreaded penalty shootout. Ashalata Devi put India into a 1-0 lead as her Kazakh counterpart skied her shot. Dalima then stepped up to convert her effort before Manisha saw hers saved by the rival keeper as the score got locked at 2-2.

Grace scored from India’s fourth attempt but Sanju missed her subsequent effort as the Kazakh side converted its last two shots, thus handing the Indian side a narrow 4-3 defeat in the shootout.

India Starting XI: Aditi Chauhan (GK); Dalima Chhibber, Sweety Devi, Ashalata Devi, Jabamani Tudu; Sangita Basfore, Indumathi Kathiresan, Ratanbala Devi; Sanju, Dangmei Grace, Anju Tamang.

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India Head Coach Maymol Rocky believes that the early goal proved to be the undoing of her team, as Uzbekistan bagged the win.

“We were unlucky to concede a goal early on, and that cost us in the end. Our girls showed a lot of heart and played really well against quality opposition like Uzbekistan,” said Maymol. “Perhaps if we had taken our chances, the result may have been different.”

Despite the loss, Maymol took heart from the fact that the team has improved a lot in the last couple of years. “A couple of years back (in April 2017) Uzbekistan had defeated us 7-1. Compared to that, this performance is much better. We will take the positives from this match, and look to iron out the mistakes before our next game against Turkmenistan,” she added.

Uzbekistan got off to an early start after the match kicked-off as Burhanova Malika put the Central Asian nation in the lead in the fourth minute. This provided a lot of momentum to the Uzbek attack, but the defence, along with India keeper Aditi Chauhan, managed to keep them at bay in the early exchanges after the goal.

A 25th-minute substitution by India saw Jabamani Tudu replace Michel Castanha at the left-back position. India mounted a few attacks after this substitution, but the Uzbek defence managed to negotiate them.

The Indian eves came out with more conviction in the second half, with Dangmei Grace looking to use her long-range shooting abilities. Defenders Dalima Chhibber and Sweety Devi came to India’s rescue mid-way through the second half, as they made crucial clearances.

India had the golden chance to draw level with just six minutes of regulation time left on the clock, but striker Anju Tamang missed the target from inside the penalty area. Soon after, Chhibber also failed to hit the target from close range, before the referee brought the match to an end.

India Starting XI: Aditi Chauhan; Sweety Devi, Ashalata Devi, Michel Castanha, Dalima Chhibber; Sangita Basfore (C), Ratanbala Devi, Sanju; Dangmei Grace, Manisha, Indumathi.

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Ratanbala Devi hit home a free kick in the 83rd minute but it wasn’t enough as India registered its first loss in the four-nation tournament.

Myanmar is seated at the top of the table with 6 points from 2 games and India and Nepal are locked in second place with 3 points each after the second day. Iran is yet to open its account having played an equal number of games.

India skipper Aditi Chauhan erred in grabbing a cross from the right flank which allowed Bhandari to score into an empty net.

Maymol Rocky’s team switched gears and Dalima Chibber could have hit the target with a long ranger only to miss by a whisker. Sanju’s lay-off was collected by Jabamani Tudu but the cross was too heavy for onrushing goalkeeper Anju Tamang.

India had another chance in the dying minutes of the first half but Anju could rattle only the side-netting.

They had two back-to-back chances to breach the sturdy Nepalese defence but the score line remained the same.

Sanju and Sandhiya, who replaced Anju Tamang in the 57th minute, coordinated well but failed to find the back of the net in the 74th minute. Sanju tucked in a goal but was ruled offside in the 75th minute.

India got a free-kick at the edge of the box owing to a handball by a Nepalese defender and Ratanbala Devi converted it to bring some life back to the game in the 83rd minute.

India tried their best to find the equalizer but Nepal stood firm to clinch all three points

India will face Myanmar in the final game of the group stage at the same venue on Wednesday.

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