KATHMANDU, Aug 28: Goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong´s heroics helped 10-man Nepal secure a goalless draw against India in its third match of the Nehru Cup Football Tournament in New Delhi on Tuesday, although the result meant Nepal crashed out of the tournament along with Syria.
The late sending off of Nepali defender Bikash Singh Chhetri for arguing with the referee was probably the only blemish for the Nepali side, which had slumped to a 5-0 defeat to Cameroon and was also beaten 2-1 by the Maldives in its earlier matches. [break]
Nepal had dominated the first half of the game against India but the home side recovered well in the second half only to be denied the winner by goalkeeper Chemjong, who was later adjudged the man-of-the-match.
Chemjong stopped a powerful shot from India skipper Sunil Chhetri in the 53rd minute to keep Nepal in contention in the game. He also denied Robin Singh a goal late in the match while Zoyal Raza Sheikh´s 81st minute shot hit the post and went out of play.
Chemjong bagged a purse of $ 1,500. He had missed the earlier two matches due to fever.
Earlier, Raju Tamang and Jumanu Rai missed some good chances to give the lead to Nepal. Tamang failed to convert a free kick from Rohit Chand early in the first half while Rai attempted to beat Indian defenders in the box but lacked the cutting edge.
With the draw, Nepal now has lost the chance to qualify for the next round as it has only one point from three games. India leads the group of five teams with seven points.
With Syria also out of contention, India, the Maldives and Cameroon will compete to secure the top two spots. The Maldives are second with six points while third-placed Cameroon has four.
Nepal will next play against Syria on Thursday.
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