Kuwait City: India colts produced a clinical performance to rout Lebanon 4-1 in their second encounter of the U-16 AFC Qualifiers at the Sabah Al-Salem Stadium here.
Nuruddin (ninth minute), Jayananda Singh (43rd), Anirudh Thapa (61st) and Bedashwor Singh (65th) scored for India, while Lebanon could find a solitary goal through Ali Kharoubi in the 58th minute, on Wednesday.
Represented by the All India Football Federation’s Regional Academy boys, India now have four points from two matches and are placed second in their group.
The U-16 boys got off to a sensational start when midfielder Nuruddin blasted a long-range shot from 30 yards in the ninth minute, which was beyond Lebanese goalkeeper Mohamad Taha’s diving effort.
Just before halftime, Jayananda doubled India’s lead against a more physical Lebanese side when he tapped Jerry Lalrinzuala’s header into the net, going into the break on a high.
In the 58th minute, Lebanon regained a bit of momentum and got one back, which raised hopes of a comeback.
But their joy was short-lived as Anirudh increased India’s lead three minutes later.
Then, in the 65th minute, Bedashwor’s goal was enough to put the contest beyond Lebanon’s reach as India registered a convincing win over their mighty opponents.
India will play Bhutan in their next group match on Friday.
Bhutan have lost all three of their matches in the tournament, but India’s coach Goutam Ghosh is not worried about complacency.
“We haven’t ever taught the boys to relax during a match. So there’s no question of complacency,” Ghosh was quoted as saying on the AIFF website. (PTI)