In football, India qualified for the AFC U20 Asian Cup main tournament for the first time in 20 years, after a 3-nil win over Bangladesh in their final qualifying match in Tashkent yesterday.
In their final Group B qualifier, Danny Meitei Laishram opened the scoring in the 25th minute, before Vishal Yadav doubled India’s lead with an acrobatic finish on the hour mark. Substitute Md Arbash made it 3-nil in the 79th minute.
The victory, India’s second in the qualifiers, took them to six points from three matches. India then waited for the result of the Syria-Uzbekistan match.
Uzbekistan’s 3-nil win over Syria confirmed India’s qualification as one of the seven best runners-up across the eight groups. India last featured in the AFC U20 Asian Cup in 2006. Uzbekistan topped Group B with nine points, while Syria finished third with three points. Bangladesh, who lost all three matches, were relegated to the Development Phase.
The AFC U20 Asian Cup will be held in China from 24th March to 10th April, next year.
