Holders bow out amid controversy

Holders Bangladesh exited from the race for gold in the football event of the 12th South Asian (SA) Games after they were humbled 3-0 by hosts India in the first semifinal at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Guwahati yesterday.

Now, two-time gold winners Bangladesh will have to fight for the bronze on Monday against the losers of the second semifinal between Nepal and Maldives.

Spanish coach Gonzalo Sanchez Moreno had appealed to his charges during Friday's training session to control the game by keeping possession of the ball. His charges did their best to follow instructions, as they had the majority of possession, but a few mistakes from the midfielders as well as from defenders saw Bangladesh's hopes of playing the final for the seventh time vanish, marking a third successive failure in international tournaments for the booters.

Bangladesh showed some signs of building their plays from the back and everything was going smoothly until a defender's mistake cost them a goal in the 21st minute. Rezaul Karim failed to clear a Sandesh Jhingan free-kick and Kumam Udanta Singh provided India with a lead through a tap-in against the run of play.

Bangladesh kept pressing for the equaliser but their toothless attacks could hardly expose a compact Indian backline. Nabib Newaj Jibon had a great chance to equalise, but his weak drive inside the box failed to trouble Indian goalkeeper Rehenesh TP.

Nepalese referee Laba Kahtri's decisions were time and again protested by Moreno, who ventured out of his technical area several times to voice his complaints.

However, four minutes from the break, Mawihmingthanga doubled India's margin through a driven shot from outside the box after being set up by Germanpreet Singh, who snatched the ball away from midfielder Shahedul Alam near the middle.

After resumption, Bangladesh sent on Jewel Rana and Rubel Mia in places of Shahed and Fahad. The move almost paid off as the visitors went close to reducing the margin on the hour mark. However, it was not to be as the referee overlooked a penalty appeal when Jibon, through on goal, was brought down by Indian defender Sandesh Jhigan.

This decision was the final straw for Moreno, who screamed towards the fourth referee and was consequently sent off for continuous protests.

Soon after, India put the game beyond doubt as Jayesh Dilip Rane drove a Hillicharan Narzary pass home from inside the box in the 64th minute. The visitors protested the decision as they believed the scorer to be offside, but they were denied as the referee whistled for a goal.

Since then Bangladesh enjoyed better possession till the last moment, but they failed to find the back of the net. After the match had ended, Jamal Bhuiyan exchanged heated words with a referee, for which he was sent off.

"The scenario could have been different had we not been deprived of a penalty in the second half," alleged assistant coach Syed Golam Jilani. "The decisions of the referee went against us."

However, Jilani also acknowledged that the failure to cash in on a few opportunities and silly mistakes from the players ultimately led to Bangladesh's downfall.