Kolkata: India’s struggles on the international stage continued as the Blue Tigers suffered another defeat, this time against Tajikistan national football team in an international friendly on Friday night.
Playing away from home, the Indian football team went down 3-1 after a disappointing overall performance. Tajikistan’s goals came through Sheriddin Boboev, Mehrubon Karimov and Ehsoni Panshanbe, while Farukh Choudhary scored the lone goal for India late in the match.
বাংলায় পড়তে ক্লিক করুন: তাজিকিস্তানের কাছে ৩-১ গোলে হার ভারতের, ব্যবধান কমালেন ফারুক
The latest defeat has once again disappointed Indian football fans, especially after the team’s recent poor run of results.
Early Pressure From Tajikistan
As expected, veteran goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu started between the posts for India. Head coach Khalid Jamil also fielded an attacking lineup featuring players like Edmund Lalrindika and Lallianzuala Chhangte.
However, India struggled to cope with Tajikistan’s attacking pressure from the very beginning.
Inside the opening quarter of the match, Indian defenders conceded a penalty while trying to stop a dangerous attack. Sheriddin Boboev converted the spot-kick comfortably to hand Tajikistan the lead, leaving Gurpreet with little chance to make a save.
The hosts carried a 1-0 advantage into halftime.
India Fail to Recover
India attempted to increase attacking intensity after the restart, but the efforts failed to produce the desired result.
Instead, Tajikistan extended their lead further. Around the hour mark, Mehrubon Karimov scored with an impressive header from a well-delivered set-piece in the 62nd minute.
Soon after, Ehsoni Panshanbe added another goal to make the scoreline even more difficult for the visitors.
Despite trailing heavily, the Indian players continued searching for a breakthrough goal.
Farukh Scores Late Consolation
India finally managed to reduce the margin in the 89th minute when Farukh Choudhary found the back of the net.
However, the late goal only reduced the deficit, as the match eventually ended in a 3-1 victory for Tajikistan.
Focus Shifts to Second Friendly
The two sides will now meet again in the second international friendly on June 9.
After another disappointing result, Khalid Jamil and his squad will now aim to regroup quickly and deliver a much-improved performance in the next encounter.
