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Football

Dominant India held to a 1-1 draw by Singapore in an International friendly

Despite a dominant performance, India was held out to a 1-1 draw by Singapore in the international friendly at Vietnam.

Dominant India held to a 1-1 draw by Singapore in an International friendly
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Ashqiue scored the only goal for India against Singapore in the Hung Thinh tournament. (Credits- Indian Football Twitter)

By

PTI

Updated: 24 Sep 2022 3:24 PM GMT

India dished out a dominating performance but failed to notch up a win, playing out a 1-1 draw against lower-ranked Singapore in their FIFA international friendly match in the Hung Thinh Tournament here on Saturday.

Ikhsan Fandi put Singapore ahead in the 37th minute when his free-kick from about 25 yards out took a deflection off the Indian wall and beat a diving goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who could lay a hand on the ball but failed to stop it from entering the net.

Singapore's joy lasted just six minutes as Ashique Kuruniyan equalised in the 43rd minute off an assist from captain Sunil Chhetri. Jeakson Singh made an interception in the Singapore half and passed the ball to Chhetri, who put Kuruniyan through on goal. Kuruniyan calmly slotted the ball home with a left-footed grounder which beat Singapore goalie and captain Hassan Sunny.

India is currently ranked 104th while Singapore is at 159th. The last time the two sides met each other in 2012, Singapore had won 2-0. Singapore had lost 0-4 to host Vietnam in their first match.

As expected senior player Sandesh Jhingan and his defensive partner, Chinglensana Singh didn't feature in the match as they reached here only on Friday. They did not accompany the team which flew out of India on Tuesday night due to travel document-related issues.

Singapore was the more attacking side in the early stages of the match and they had a good chance in the 15th minute. Ikshan Fandi was played through behind the Indian defence, but his first touch off the high ball was too heavy and defender Anwar Ali cleared it for a corner and averted the danger.

India settled down nicely, and Liston Colaco was on target in the 19th minute, when he fired in a long-range shot, only to see Singapore goalie Sunny make a fine save. Gurpreet made a fine save in the 25th minute as Fandi leapt high and headed a cross towards India's goal.

Two minutes later, Kuruniyan was on to the Singapore goal but he could not make the final touch from near the post, even as Chhetri was waiting. The second half saw India dominating the match with more attacks.

Kuruniyan's powerful left-footer in the 49th minute was somehow saved by the Singaporean goalie while Chetri's shot from just outside the box, two minutes later, missed the target by a whisker. India plays hosts Vietnam in their last match of the friendly tournament on Tuesday.

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