New Delhi: The Indian women’s team suffered a 0-3 defeat against hosts Vietnam in the first of the two FIFA international friendly matches in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday.
Thi Nhung (8th minute), Thi Van (82nd) and Thi Thuy Hang (89th) scored a goal apiece for the hosts to secure the comfortable win. Aditi Chauhan pulled off a terrific save in the 12th minute to deny Vietnam from doubling the lead. At the stroke of the half-hour mark, Bala Devi unleashed a superb shot from centre only to see it missing the target by a whisker. Coach Maymol Rocky opted to make an early substitution in the form of Daya, who replaced Sumitra in the 32nd minute.
Aditi was unarguably at the top of her game, as she kept India in the fight till the 80th minute, before Vietnam rammed back-to-back goals to seal the tie. After the changeover, Thi Van tucked in the hosts’ second goal before Hang converted from a corner-kick with a minute of regulation time left on the clock. The two sides will face-off once again in their second friendly on Wednesday.
The Vietnam women’s national football team has become the most powerful team in Southeast Asia since 2000. (PTI)
