Consoling win for Indians

India’s frequent attempts at scoring gave the Lankans some difficult moments. They began with a 4-4-2 formation with Prasanta Dora in goal and F Dutta and Daljit Singh at right and left back. Deepak Mandal was the stopper and he had Roberto Fernandez as his central defending partner.

Basudeb Mondal shot India into the lead in the 24th minute when he fired a powerful shot that beat the advancing custodian Mohammed Illyas. A minute later, Bijen Singh came close to adding the second but Illyas managed a desperate save. Renedy Singh scored thesecond when he cashed in on a perfect pass from Bijen Singh five minutes before the break.

Sri Lanka reduced the margin in the 19th minute of the second half when Isuru Perera switched the ball from the right flank for Kasun to score following a mix-up in front of the Indian goal.

Even as Sri Lanka searched for the equaliser, Syed Sabir Pasha, who substituted for star striker IM Vijayan, scored India’s third.Indian coach Sukhvinder Singh was pleased with his team’s performance. He said the win would boost his team’s confidence before they clashed with Bangladesh in their last outing.

UZBEKISTAN WIN: Uzbekistan absorbed the immense pressure piled by the hosts before scoring the all-important goal in the 71st minute to qualify for the Asia Cup final. The soccer powerhouse from Central Asia finished with an all-win record. For the UAE, it was a sad exit after being the runners-up in 1996. Striker Shatskikh Maksim, a top professional player, scored the winner for Uzbekistan.

—UNITED NEWS OFINDIA