Sunil Chhetri scores 77th goal as India beat Nepal 1-0, equals great Pele
Male (PTI): Talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri equalled the legendary Pele with his 77th international goal as his 83rd minute strike helped India beat Nepal 1-0 and saved his side from the verge of elimination in the SAFF Championships here on Sunday.
The 37-year-old Chhetri, playing in his 123rd match for India, struck a late goal to place himself on even keel with the Brazillian great (77 goals from 92 matches).
He is now on joint third with UAE's Ali Mabkhout (77) in the list of highest scorers among active footballers, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (112) and Lionel Messi (79).
Substitute Farukh Chaudhary somehow managed to win a header from a long throw in and directed it towards the centre of the six-yard box where Chhetri found himself at the right place to fire the ball past Nepal gaolkeeper Kiran Limbu late in the match.
Seven-time champions India are now at third spot with five points from three matches in the five-team table, below Maldives (six points from three matches) and Nepal (six points from three matches).
India will still need to win their final round-robin league match on Wednesday against hosts Maldives if they have to make it to the October 16 final.
A draw against Nepal would have put India on the verge of elimination.
The Indian team and its head coach Igor Stimac had been under the pump after drawing against lower-ranked Bangladesh (1-1) and Sri Lanka (0-0) in their previous matches.
Chaudhary had come into the field as substitute of Mohd. Yasir in the 70th minute.
India kept on creating chances in the match and were the dominant team throughout. But they were not able make the finishing touches in a few chances they got.
Chhetri had also missed a big opportunity to score in the first half. India had drawn against Nepal 0-0 and beat the Himalayan nation 2-0 in the previous encounters this year before Sunday's win.
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Manipur: Mortal remains of children killed in bomb attack handed over to family
Imphal (PTI): The mortal remains of two children, who were killed in a bomb attack in Manipur's Bishnupur district in April, were handed over to family members on Saturday, officials said.
The bodies of the five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister were kept in the morgue for 25 days, as the family members had refused to accept the mortal remains, demanding that the perpetrators be brought to book at the earliest.
On April 25, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh had appealed to the family members of the children to accept the bodies. Singh had also said that all efforts were underway to find the culprits.
The two children were killed in a bomb attack at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district on April 7. Their bodies were kept in the morgue at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.
The incident had triggered widespread violent protests in the five valley districts of Manipur, and the case was subsequently handed over to the NIA.
Hundreds of people lined up along the way to Tronglaobi to offer floral tributes, as the mortal remains were taken for the last rites in an open vehicle earlier in the day.
