Asian Games 2023, five-star China crush India 5-1: Stats
The Indian football team started with a 5-1 defeat against hosts China in their opening fixture of the 2023 Asian Games. Rahul KP was the lone goalscorer for the Blue Tigers as the visitors looked second-best throughout the 90 minutes. Goals from Tianyi Gao, Dai Weijun, Fang Hao, and a brace from Quianglong Tao were enough for China to bag all three points.
Sunil Chhetri scripts this Asian Games record
The 39-year-old Sunil Chhetri led India in their opening match against China at the 2023 Asian Games. He became the third Indian captain to lead his team in two Asian Games (2014 and 2023). Chhetri joins an elite list of former India captains which includes Sailen Manna (1951, 1954) and Bhaichung Bhutia (2002, 2006), who have also led the country in two Asian Games.
India have won two gold medals at the Asian Games
India won the gold medal in football at the Asian Games in 1951 under the leadership of coach Syed Abdul Rahim and captain Manna. Rahim guided India to their second gold medal in the 1962 Asian Games as they defeated South Korea 2-1 in the final. India won their last football medal at the Asiad in 1970 when they clinched the bronze.
A look at the match stats
China attempted six shots and all of them were on target. They scored five goals. India also had one shot on target, and they scored from that. The hosts saw more of the possession and also registered two yellow cards.
How did the match pan out?
Gao handed China the lead in the 17th minute from a corner. Minutes later, they received a penalty as Gurmeet Singh brought down the opponent forward. However, he made amends by saving the spot-kick. India equalized via Rahul's goal from a tight angle. In the second half, a quick-fire brace from Tao and goals from Weijun and Fang took the game away from India.
Indian players reached China a few hours before kick-off
Igor Stimac had a scarcity of options on the bench, so he couldn't replace the tired players. China took advantage of the situation and thumped in the goals. India reached China only a few hours ago and didn't get a single training session to acclimatize.
India will next play Bangladesh on September 21
Despite the 5-1 defeat against China, India still have a chance of finishing second in the group to qualify for the knockout rounds at the 2023 Asian Games. The Blue Tigers will next face Bangladesh on September 21 and Myanmar on September 24. The top two teams from each of the six groups will directly qualify for the knockouts.
