Doha [Qatar], September 3 (ANI): India began their AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers campaign with a 2-0 victory against Bahrain at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday. The India U23 men's national team scored one in each half.

Muhammed Suhail (32') and Chingangbam Shivaldo Singh (90+5') scored the two goals, as India registered three points in the first game of Group H.

In a frantic match that saw end-to-end action throughout the 90 minutes, the Blue Colts had an early scare in the eighth minute, when Bahrain's Mahmood Abdulla closed down on India goalkeeper Sahil and managed to steal the ball inside the penalty area. However, with an open goal staring him in the face, he hit the side-netting.

India gained some composure after that early Bahrain miss and began to construct chances, hitting Bahrain on the break. Striker Parthib Sundar Gogoi had a couple of half-chances around the quarter-hour mark, but lacked the finishing touch, according to All India Football Federation (AIFF) website.

India's attacks left them vulnerable at the back, and Abdulla had another chance when he got in behind the defence, but missed again. At the other end, the Blue Colts thought they had scored when Ricky Meetei Haobam threaded a ball through to Mohammed Sanan, who put it past the keeper, but was soon flagged offside.

The breakthrough, for either side, was long coming, and it finally arrived in the 32nd minute through some individual brilliance from Muhammed Suhail. Played in behind on the right flank by Macarton Louis Nickson, Suhail produced some dazzling footwork to turn his marker inside-out, before planting his shot into the bottom corner.

The goal left Bahrain shellshocked for a while, though as the game neared the halfway mark, they began to find their feet once again. Captain Mubarak Binahmed played an aerial through ball to Abdulla Alsubaei, but Sahil was alert to the danger and stepped out to collect it.

If the first half seemed frantic, the second half only served to increase the pace of the game. Both sides attacked, Bahrain looking for the equaliser, while India tried to hit them on the break and gain the two-goal cushion.

Suhail was played through on the right once again, as he cut it back for Sanan, whose eventual shot was blocked. India U23 head coach Naushad Moosa soon made a flurry of changes, introducing the fresh legs of Sreekuttan MS, Shivaldo, and Mohammed Aimen into the fray with less than 30 minutes left.

The move almost immediately paid off as Ricky's dangerous cross from the right was headed over the woodwork by Shivaldo in the 68th minute.

Bahrain had a disallowed goal of their own, when Sayed Mahmood Almoosawi's cross was blocked, but the rebound fell kindly for him to place it into the Indian goal. Much to his dismay, he too was flagged offside.

Aimen was proving to be a thorn in the side of the Bahrain defence, especially on the counter. His 76th-minute cross from the right landed perfectly for Sanan to tap in at the far post, but Bahrain keeper Abdulla Ali Ahmed produced a point-blank save.

Ahmed kept Bahrain in the game once again a few minutes later, when Aimen produced a snapshot after some intricate interplay with Sreekuttan.

Bahrain grew desperate as the match rolled into injury-time, creating more spaces for India to exploit on the counter. Ahmed stood in India's way once again, expertly saving substitute Sahil Harijan's shot.

However, the Bahrain goal was breached a second time with just seconds left on the clock, when Sreekuttan produced a delicious cross from the left, as a diving Shivaldo only had to ensure a good enough touch to tap it in, securing the win for the Blue Colts. (ANI)