New Delhi, Oct 29
They worked long and hard for that dream for over a year and were within four minutes of realising it. But it wasn't meant to be for the spirited India junior men's football team, whose 2-3 defeat to Thailand ended their U17 Asian Cup and World Cup dreams.
Crestfallen, shattered, broken. You could run out of synonyms to describe the scenes in the Indian dugout after the full-time whistle. Some sobbed inconsolably, some had heads buried in their hands, and some were still trying to process what had just hit them. And why wouldn't they be? For 86 minutes of the match, India had the ticket to Saudi Arabia in their bag. Ultimately, one moment of quality from Thailand snatched it away from them.
Ishfaq Ahmed's boys always played with a proactive mindset and for all three points. They had been steamrolling opponents left, right, and centre. Their tally of 28 goals in nine matches this year says it all. They have beaten Indonesia at their home. Against Thailand, they led twice in an environment they had never played football in before -- a passionate opposition crowd, jeers, whistles, and non-stop drumming.
But none of that prevented Ngamgouhou Mate from coolly slotting his penalty or Vishal Yadav from thumping home a stupendous volley from Ninghthoukhongjam Rishi Singh's perfect cross.
There was still a glimmer of hope after the game. Had there been some results from other groups, which were yet to finish, India's ticket could still have been punched. However, after Australia and Indonesia played out a goalless draw in Kuwait, India were officially knocked out.