BISHKEK:The Indian women's team defeated the Kyrgyz Republic 4-0 at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium to complete their second straight victory in a period of four days and guarantee their qualification for Round 2 of the AFC Women's Olympic Qualification Tournament in 2024.
India dominated the Kyrgyz Republic despite being reduced to 10 players in the first half after defeating the hosts 5-0 earlier this week, with goals from Sandhiya Ranganathan (who scored twice), Anju Tamang, and substitute Renu. The Blue Tigresses got off to a strong start, and it didn't take them long to take the lead when Sandhiya scored in the 18th minute by slipping her shot past the opposing custodian after beating two defenders.
After Karthika Angamuthu's off-the-ball challenge on Kyrgyz captain Aizhan Boronbekova, India suffered a defeat a short while after.
Anju Tamang doubled India's advantage in the 24th minute by slamming it home on a half-volley, showing that they were unfazed by the situation.
Just one minute after the score, Thomas Dennerby substituted holding midfielder Sangita Basfore for winger Soumya Guguloth in an effort to fortify the centre of the park following the red card.
Anju and Sandhiya continued to spearhead a barrage of Indian attacks, nearly scoring on a few occasions, but the score remained 2-0 as the teams went inside for a break. In the second half, India continued where they left off, and Sandhiya soon added her second goal of the evening. To make it 3-0 in India's favour, midfielder Indumathi Kathiresan sprinted upfield on the left and delivered in a low cross that Sandhiya smashed into the top corner.
With a player advantage, the Kyrgyz Republic attempted to widen the Indian defence. Dennerby quickly reacted by substituting quick full-back Ranjana Chanu for Manisa Panna.
With 10 seconds remaining in regulation, Dennerby made a number of substitutions, replacing Indumathi, Sangita, and Sandhiya with Renu, Michel Castanha, and Dangmei Grace.
Renu quickly made up for it by looping a corner from Dalima Chhibber over the head of the opposing custodian to make it 4-0.
Grace made a few incisive runs on the left wing and appeared active after being introduced. She ran into a cul-de-sac on the first occasion by cutting inside from the left, dodging two defenders. The second time, she attempted to cut back from the goal line after being sent in behind the Kyrgyz defence on the left flank, but her cross lacked momentum and stalled out of play. Bengaluru FC beat Srinidhi Deccan in opening match of Super Cup
Rajkumar reached the semi-finals with four players
IPL 2023: Kieron Pollard wants batters to fire in unison against CSK