India’s spirit, Manisha’s wonder goal not enough

Manisha Kalyan scored a wonder goal, one that will be talked about long after the continental showpiece ends. That, however, was not enough as India lost 3-1 against Chinese Taipei and were knocked out of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup at the Western Sydney Stadium in Sydney on Tuesday.Manisha’s 39th minute long-range freekick rattled the crossbar and bounced back, creating plenty of confusion inside the Chinese Taipei box. It was so powerful, and so lightning quick, that referees on the field failed to spot the goal and needed intervention from the video assistant referee (VAR) to confirm that the strike had crossed the goal line.The goal cancelled Su Yu-Hsuan’s 12th minute opener for Chinese Taipei after the striker capitalised on a defensive lapse. India did pile on the pressure but conceded a penalty in the eighth minute of first-half added time when Pyari Xaxa was penalised for a handball. Hsu Yi-Yun stepped up and saw her effort strike the post before ricocheting off the outstretched goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu’s back and rolling into the net.Chinese Taipei led 2-1 at the breather, scoring from a defensive lapse and an own goal. In the second half, India showed plenty of spirit, but it were the three-time Asian champions who had the last laugh when Yu-Chin beat the offside trap, and the onrushing keeper, to make it 3-1 in the 77th minute.Worryingly, of bigger concern was Panthoi colliding with captain Sweety Devi, with both needing to be stretched off the field. According to sources, the two were rushed to the hospital where test results are awaited.Panthoi was previously checked for concussion and then allowed to continue by the team doctors after a strong shot struck her face when she attempted to stop Chinese Taipei in a one-on-one situation.“We are sad at being knocked out but we gave our 100% on the field and worked hard till the final whistle,” said Sanfida Nongrum, who scored India’s only goal against Vietnam in the opener. “In sports, you have a team that wins and the other one loses. It’s part of the game. We learned a lot from this tournament; it was my debut for the national team. I’ve never seen football like this before.”India finished at the bottom of group C with an all-loss record, while Japan finished as group winners with an all-win record after slamming four past Vietnam in third place in the concluding clash. Chinese Taipei also qualified for the last-eight stage with six points and will face defending champions China in their last-eight tie on Saturday.Needing to win by at least a two-goal margin to finish second and qualify, India started brightly, forcing Chinese Taipei on the back foot. They won three corner kicks inside the first 15 minutes, made the opponent goalkeeper work, but lacked composure in the attacking third.Manisha made Chinese Taipei sweat with three powerful freekicks, one that resulted in a goal. Two of India’s attempts also struck the post, but in the end, that was never going to be enough against the three-time Asian champions.