India crash out, Constantine steps down

Sharjah, January 14 

India suffered a heartbreak as they conceded an injury time goal through a penalty to lose 0-1 to Bahrain and crash out of the showpiece Asian Cup under dramatic circumstances here today. India were on the verge of booking their maiden knock-out berth in the continent's biggest stage before captain Pranoy Halder brought down a Bahrain attacker and the referee pointed to the to the dreaded spot in the 91st minute. 

Jamal Rashed stepped up and sent the ball past goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh into the net to the dismay of the Indians, who had surprised everyone with their impressive performance in the tournament. A draw would have been enough for India to go through to the Round of 16 at second place in Group A, while Bahrain would have been knocked out. But it was not to be as India succumbed to incessant pressure in the last few minutes.

India finished at the bottom of the four-team Group A with three points from three matches. Hosts UAE, who played out a 1-1 draw against Thailand in the other match played simultaneously in Al Ain, topped the group on five points. Thailand, whom India had beaten 4-1 in their opening match, and Bahrain got four points each but the former ended at the second spot as they had beaten the West Asian side in their previous match.

A knockout round qualification in the Asian Cup would have ranked as the biggest achievement in Indian football after the golden years (1951 to 64). In 1984 and 2011 also, India had crashed out of the tournament in group stage.  — PTI