AFC Asian Cup: India lose 0-3 to Uzbekistan
Doha, Jan 18: Bereft of ideas, a lacklustre Indian football team's woes were compounded by its defensive lapses, resulting in a 0-3 drubbing by a dominant Uzbekistan in the AFC Asian Cup here on Thursday.
This is India's second successive defeat in Group B, having started their campaign with a 0-2 loss to title contenders Australia, in which their spirited performance earned them plaudits.
However, against the central Asian nation at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, India's performance was a far cry from their display against the Socceroos, a FIFA World Cup regular.
Uzbekistan scored through Abbosbek Fayzullaev (4th minute), Igor Sergeev (18th) and Nasrullaev (45+3) to register their first win in the competition after being held to a stalemate by Syria in their tournament opener.
Hoping to start on a positive note barely days after their promising show against Australia, India, instead, found themselves on the backfoot straightaway and conceded a rather soft goal early on.
The lightning quick Fayzullaev, placed in a favourable position, found the target with a header past the hapless Gurpreet Singh Sandhu after Shukurov headed the ball towards him from a Nasrullaev cross taken at the edge of the Indian penalty area.
Ranked 102 in the world as against their 68-ranked opponents, Igor Stimac's men found the going tough as Uzbekistan looked to rattle the Indian defence with their attacking play.
Unlike the match against Australia, the Indians could not prevent Uzbekistan from splitting their defence wide open in the early part.
In a mood to stamp their authority further, Uzbekistan again benefitted from sloppy defending from their opponents.
Rahul Bheke gave the ball away in the halfway line. Akash Mishra managed to touch the ball but his clearance hit the post before returning to the field of play, and Sergeev did the rest to put his side 2-0 ahead.
Even as the Indians looked to bounce back, there was no letup in Uzbekistan's intensity as they struck their third goal just before the half-time, with Nasrullaev scoring from the rebound as the Indian defence failed to respond to the situation.
Uzbekistan began the second-half with a comfortable cushion and the Blue Tigers needed a miracle to stage a comeback. But all they could do was to avoid a bigger margin of defeat and leave the field a dejected lot.
The damage was inflicted in the first half itself and what did not help the Indians was their ultra defensive tactics which aided their physically stronger and superior rivals. It meant less attacking nous from India.
Lallianzuala Chhangte started on the bench for India, paving the way for Naorem Mahesh Singh, while Anirudh Thapa was included in place of Deepak Tangri. Akash Mishra was brought in for Subhashish Bose.
India will play their final group match against Syria on January 23.
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Allahabad HC denies relief to Rahul Gandhi in Savarkar remarks case
Lucknow (UP), Apr 4 (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has refused to grant any relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a case concerning alleged derogatory remarks made against freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The defamation case stems from Gandhi's comments on Savarkar made on November 17, 2022 during his Bharat Jodo Yatra at a rally in Maharashtra's Akola district.
The court on Friday ruled that Gandhi can file a revision petition before the sessions court, making the high court's intervention unnecessary at this stage.
Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the single bench issued the order.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had challenged a lower court's decision to summon him in the case, also contesting the ongoing proceedings against him.
Gandhi's lawyer, Pranshu Agarwal, argued that the allegations in the complaint did not constitute offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He also contended that the lower court had disregarded Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which pertains to prosecution for offences against the State.
However, Justice Vidyarthi, without commenting on the merits of the case, stated that Gandhi has the option to file a revision petition before the sessions court. The high court declined to provide immediate relief to Gandhi.
Advocate Nripendra Pandey filed a complaint, accusing Gandhi of intentionally insulting Savarkar during the rally.
The complainant alleged Gandhi's remarks were part of a well-planned conspiracy to defame Savarkar. He noted that the comments were broadcast widely across the media.
The case is being heard in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate here. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled on April 14.
