India’s chances of qualifying recede

India were chasing the rainbow of a quarter final berth in the Olympic qualifiers, but Thailand woke them up to harsh reality, beating them 1-0 at the floodlit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday evening.

India were chasing the rainbow of a quarter final berth in the Olympic qualifiers, but Thailand woke them up to harsh reality, beating them 1-0 at the floodlit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday evening.

When India lost their previous qualifier 0-3 to Iraq, coach Colin Toal had said the Iraqis were taller, heavier and healthier. What does he have to say now? For, the Thais were no different in built than the Indians —- only they were better-prepared.

The defeat was more because India could not defend well. Indian custodian Subrata Pal could not hold on to a shot from Thai midfielder Piyachart Thamaphan in the ninth minute. The ball rebounded to forward Teeratep Winothai, who made no mistake in pushing it in.

Heavily marked throughout, forward Manjit Singh tried his level best to equalise but did not receive much support from midfield. Syed Rahim Nabi, who scored against Myanmar, was used in the left flank rather than his favourite front position and he too failed to make a mark.

Teeratep Winothai, probably the fastest player of the match, was the fulcrum of the Thai attack. Meanwhile, India striker Sushil Kumar Singh missed a golden chance when he failed to convert a simple header from a Nabi free-kick.

In the dying minutes, Subhas Chakraborty and the fast-moving forward Saikh Tariff Ahamed were brought in. Though both made an immediate impact, it was too late by then. The loss compounds India’s woes. Now, they have to win their matches against Korea and Iraq to have any chance of qualifying.