Indian Women's Football Team Endures Disappointing 1-0 Loss Against Uzbekistan In Friendly
Despite a more spirited performance, the Blue Tigresses were undone by a moment of brilliance from Nilufar Kudratova early in the second half.
Following their 0-1 loss in the first friendly, Tuesday's match offered hope for redemption. India showed marked improvement in their intensity and intent, but the scoreline, unfortunately, remained the same.
India approached the match with renewed determination and tactical discipline. Unlike the first fixture, where the team appeared cautious and struggled in transition, the hosts played more aggressively, pressing higher up the pitch and trying to take control.
The defense, led by Thokchom Martina and her backline partners, worked hard to contain Uzbekistan's pacey attack. Their positioning and communication were much sharper, and when the backline was breached, goalkeeper Payal Basude stood tall. She made several crucial saves in the first half, most notably after Nozimakhon Ergasheva hit the crossbar with a powerful strike in the 11th minute.
In midfield, India looked more cohesive, with players using the width of the pitch to stretch the Uzbek defense. Sangita Basfore helped build attacks from deep, while fullback Ranjana Chanu injected pace and creativity.
India's best chance came in the 21st minute. Ranjana sent in a dangerous cross from the right, which Pyari Xaxa met with a strong header at the far post. The Uzbekistan keeper made a reflex save, and although the rebound fell kindly to Sangita, she failed to direct her shot on target.
That missed opportunity would come back to haunt India. Just four minutes into the second half, Uzbekistan struck. Kudratova picked up the ball on the edge of the box, skipped past two defenders with elegant footwork, and unleashed a fierce left-footed strike that flew past Payal Basude into the top corner. It was a goal worthy of winning any match.
The setback momentarily unsettled the Blue Tigresses, but they regrouped and pushed forward again. Soumya Guguloth and Pyari Xaxa continued to test the Uzbekistan defense, while substitutes brought fresh energy. However, despite several promising moves, the final pass or shot often lacked the sharpness needed to level the score.
In the end, India fell short, but the performance was anything but disheartening. The Blue Tigresses displayed resilience, tactical awareness, and attacking hunger, qualities they had been criticized for lacking in the previous outing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
17 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Reuters X account restored in India after suspension over legal demand
NEW DELHI -The Reuters News account on X was restored in India on Sunday, a day after the social media platform suspended it, citing a legal demand. Reuters X account restored in India after suspension over legal demand "At this time, we are no longer withholding access in INDIA to your account," X said in an email to the Reuters social media team, without elaborating. Representatives for X, Reuters and the Indian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the restoration of the account. Earlier on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Indian government's Press Information Bureau told Reuters that no Indian government agency had required withholding the Reuters handle, adding that officials were working with X to resolve the problem. A Reuters spokesperson had said the agency was working with X to resolve this matter and get the Reuters account reinstated in India as soon as possible. Reuters World, another X account operated by the news agency which was blocked in India, was also restored late Sunday night. The main Reuters account, which has more than 25 million followers globally, had been blocked in India since Saturday night. A notice told X users that "@Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand". In an email to the Reuters social media team on May 16, X said: "It is our policy to notify account holders if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity to remove content from their account." "In order to comply with X obligations under India's local laws, we have withheld your X account in India under the country's Information Technology Act, 2000; the content remains available elsewhere". Reuters could not ascertain if the May 16 email was linked to Saturday's account suspension nor could it determine what specific content the demand referred to, why its removal was sought or the entity that had lodged the complaint. While the email did not specify which entity had made the request or what content they sought to remove, it said X had been advised that in such cases, a user could contact the secretary of India's Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The secretary, Sanjay Jaju, did not respond to requests seeking comment. The 2000 law allows designated government officials to demand the takedown of content from social media platforms they deem to violate local laws, including on the grounds of national security or if a post threatens public order. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials. The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a "censorship portal", as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
21 minutes ago
- Indian Express
After govt steps in, X unblocks Reuters' handles
Denying any government order to X (previously Twitter) to withhold Reuters' account, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was learnt to have directed the social media company to unblock two accounts of the international news agency on Sunday. Hours later, the Reuters accounts were restored. On Saturday night, X blocked the handles of Reuters and Reuters World, with a message displayed on their accounts stating they had been withheld in India 'in response to a legal demand'. But in a statement on Sunday morning, an official spokesperson of the IT Ministry said, 'There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem.' A senior official said the government had sent blocking orders to X related to some posts made by the news agency during Operation Sindoor in early May, but the platform, at the time, had not taken any action on the posts. 'When they blocked two accounts of Reuters on Saturday night, it caught us by surprise, because we had never asked X to block the accounts. Some takedown requests were made to X for posts made by Reuters during Operation Sindoor on May 7-8, but those posts were never taken down,' the official said. 'But now they turn around and block the accounts when no such demand was made, which we have been informally informed was an erroneous understanding of our previous orders. We have communicated with them verbally and also sent them a written order, asking to reverse course and unblock the accounts. There is no intent to block legitimate news platforms in India,' the official said. X did not respond to queries on the issue. 'We are working with X to resolve this matter and get Reuters account reinstated in India as soon as possible,' a Reuters spokesperson said earlier in the day. During Operation Sindoor, the Indian government had directed social media platforms like X to block several pieces of content and accounts that it felt were spreading deliberate misinformation and posting information that could subvert and undermine the Armed Forces' ongoing operations at the time. While it had blocked a range of accounts it believed were linked to Pakistan and China, it had also directed blocking the X accounts of news platforms BBC Urdu and Outlook India, which was later revoked. Earlier, in a statement on May 9, X had said that it had received executive orders from the Indian government asking for over 8,000 accounts to be blocked, including those belonging to 'international news organisations and prominent X users'. The social media platform said that falling foul of the executive orders could subject it to potential penalties, including significant fines and imprisonment of its local employees. The Indian Express had reported that following a flurry of what it called 'misinformation' on social media platforms related to Operation Sindoor, a small team at the IT Ministry — which was set up last year during the Lok Sabha polls to flag and take down election-related misinformation on social media platforms — received reinforcement of personnel and was asked to step up monitoring and flag misleading content related to the conflict to be taken down. The monitoring happened round-the-clock, with people working across shifts.
India Today
27 minutes ago
- India Today
Shubman Gill trolls stats talk after Edgbaston win: Where's my favourite journalist?
Shubman Gill was eloquent, composed, and affable after securing his maiden Test victory as captain. Speaking to the press after India's historic win in Birmingham - their first-ever at Edgbaston - Gill lit up the room with well-timed, articulate responses. He was as assured at the microphone as he had been with the bat, amassing 430 runs across two innings to lead India's stirring comeback in the Anderson-Tendulkar had lost the series opener in Leeds despite scoring over 800 runs, as England chased down 371 in the fourth innings with their trademark aggressive flair. Heading into the second Test, the odds were firmly against Gill's side - India had never won a Test in Birmingham in nine previous stat had been brought up by a journalist when Gill addressed the media on the eve of the second Test. Having silenced doubters with a collective team performance - despite the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah - Gill was in a light-hearted mood at the press conference on Sunday, 7 July."I can't see my favourite journalist. Where is he? I wanted to see him," Gill said, a friendly smile lighting up his face."I even said before the Test match that I don't really believe in history and stats. Over the last 56 years or so, we've played nine matches - different teams have come here. I believe we are the best team to have come here in England, and we have the capability to beat them, to win the series from here. If we keep making the right decisions and keep fighting, I think it would be one of the series to remember," he BUMRAH? NO PROBLEM, SAYS GILLIndia produced one of their most dominant away Test performances. Gill led from the front with scores of 269 and 161, shouldering the batting responsibility with maturity. He was well supported by Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant, who played crucial roles in India posting over 1,000 runs across the two bowling unit stepped up in Bumrah's absence. When it was announced that the fast-bowling talisman would be rested for Birmingham, many pundits wrote off India's chances. Notably, India had lost the Leeds Test despite Bumrah featuring in the Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj rose to the occasion, delivering one of the finest fast-bowling performances by an Indian duo on a flat English pitch. Akash finished with 10 wickets, becoming only the second Indian to achieve a 10-wicket match haul in a Test in England. Siraj had set the tone with a six-wicket haul in the first innings, helping India secure a crucial 180-run then completed the demolition, claiming six in the second innings as England folded for 271 while chasing an improbable underlined the team's confidence in its bowling strength, with or without Bumrah."I think I said this before the match as well - this Indian team is one of the best to have toured England. The best 16 are chosen to play for the country. I believe all our bowlers have the ability to chip in at any time and help us take 20 wickets. Definitely, Jasprit bhai is one of the best bowlers in the world. But regardless of that, any bowling unit of ours can take 20 wickets anywhere - and this was an example of that," Gill said.'I NEEDED TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE'advertisementHe also acknowledged the need to lead by example, particularly after having been critical of India's top order for failing to convert hundreds into match-defining knocks in Leeds - a game where four Indian batters crossed the three-figure mark, yet the team failed to was no such lapse this time. Gill's twin tons, combined with India's all-round effort, ensured there was no room for an English comeback."When you're the captain, I think you need to lead by example. So that whenever there's another player in that situation, you can command to that player that this is what the team requires right now - you have to put the team ahead rather than trying you put the team first, you always walk on the right path. That's what I wanted to do: If a good ball gets me out, it's okay, but as long as I am there, I want to stay as long as possible," he now head to the third Test at Lord's, starting 10 July, with momentum firmly in their favour. Gill confirmed that Bumrah, rested for the second Test, will return for the marquee clash at the Home of Cricket.- EndsYou May Also Like
