Doha: Indian football captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, upset by the controversial 1-2 defeat to Qatar in a do-or-die World Cup qualifying match, called on his teammates to adopt a more aggressive approach, saying it was an "unfortunate result". Showed that "you need not just a hook, but a crook."
India remained in the lead for the last 15 minutes of regulation time after Lalianzuala Changte scored in the 37th minute and were on their way to a resounding victory over the Asian champions.
But after the ball crossed the line, the host team scored a tremendous equalizing goal. It was a stunning blunder by the South Korean match officials that left the Indians in disbelief."We believed, we still had a chance to improve after everything we've been through," Gurpreet said in a post on his "
"Yesterday's unfortunate result and the equalizer incident is a lesson that to get where we want to go, you need not just the hook but the crook. Nobody will give us anything, we have to take it!" He added without elaborating on the context of his comment.
Gurpreet took over the captaincy after the talismanic Sunil Chhetri retired in their last match, a goalless draw against Kuwait at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.Gurpreet thanked the fans for their unwavering support and promised that the team will keep striving to make them proud.
"To everyone who supported us through the ups and downs of this campaign, thank you, we hear you and we will make you proud," he said.
Gurpreet was in trouble when the ball crossed the line and was out of play.
To intimidate the Indian team, the South Korean match officials – referees Kim Woosung, Kang Dongho and Cheon Jinhee – completely ignored it and allowed play to continue.
As a result, Alhashmi Mohialeddin pulled the ball back from Gurpreet's grasp before Youssef Ayman put the ball into the net.With no VAR, India's protests went in vain. This turned the tables for Qatar, who scored the winner in the 85th minute through Ahmed Al Rawi.
Qatar thus topped Group A and reached the last-18, while Kuwait secured second place with a win over Afghanistan on home ground.
India remained in the lead for the last 15 minutes of regulation time after Lalianzuala Changte scored in the 37th minute and were on their way to a resounding victory over the Asian champions.
But after the ball crossed the line, the host team scored a tremendous equalizing goal. It was a stunning blunder by the South Korean match officials that left the Indians in disbelief."We believed, we still had a chance to improve after everything we've been through," Gurpreet said in a post on his "
"Yesterday's unfortunate result and the equalizer incident is a lesson that to get where we want to go, you need not just the hook but the crook. Nobody will give us anything, we have to take it!" He added without elaborating on the context of his comment.
Gurpreet took over the captaincy after the talismanic Sunil Chhetri retired in their last match, a goalless draw against Kuwait at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.Gurpreet thanked the fans for their unwavering support and promised that the team will keep striving to make them proud.
"To everyone who supported us through the ups and downs of this campaign, thank you, we hear you and we will make you proud," he said.
Gurpreet was in trouble when the ball crossed the line and was out of play.
To intimidate the Indian team, the South Korean match officials – referees Kim Woosung, Kang Dongho and Cheon Jinhee – completely ignored it and allowed play to continue.
As a result, Alhashmi Mohialeddin pulled the ball back from Gurpreet's grasp before Youssef Ayman put the ball into the net.With no VAR, India's protests went in vain. This turned the tables for Qatar, who scored the winner in the 85th minute through Ahmed Al Rawi.
Qatar thus topped Group A and reached the last-18, while Kuwait secured second place with a win over Afghanistan on home ground.
