India out of AFC Women’s Asian Cup after 1–3 defeat to Chinese Taipei
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Sydney: India crashed out of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after suffering a 1–3 defeat to Chinese Taipei in their must-win final Group stage match here on Tuesday, with missed chances proving costly.
Despite dominating long stretches of the match and creating several scoring opportunities, India failed to convert their chances in the final third, resulting in an early exit from the tournament. The team had qualified for the prestigious competition on merit for the first time.
Chinese Taipei opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Y. H. Su slotted the ball into an empty net following a poor back pass from Sanju to J. W. Chen. Indian goalkeeper Elangbam Panthoi Chanu had advanced off her line in an attempt to intercept Chen, who squared the ball to Su for a simple finish.
India responded through Manisha Kalyan, who scored their only goal in the 39th minute. The winger fired a powerful long-range strike from about 30 yards to bring India level.
However, Chinese Taipei regained the lead just before halftime in added time (45+9). The goal came after Pyari Xaxa handled the ball inside the box, resulting in a penalty. Y. Y. Hsu’s shot struck the upright and deflected off Panthoi before going into the net.
Chinese Taipei sealed the victory in the 77th minute when Yu-Chin Chen scored the third goal, beating Panthoi after making a run down the right flank.
India had earlier lost to Vietnam and Japan in the group stage. To progress to the next round, the Blue Tigresses needed to defeat Chinese Taipei by at least two goals and also hope for Japan to beat Vietnam.
Japan defeated Vietnam 4–0, but India’s loss ensured their elimination from the tournament.
With PTI inputs
