FOOTBALL – Bahrain's under-23 Olympic football team suffered a disheartening 0-2 defeat to their counterparts from India last night in their opening match of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers.
Goals from Muhammed Suhail in the first half and substitute Shivaldo Chingangbam late in injury time were enough to give the Indians the full three points in their tightly contested Group H encounter, played at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
The Bahrainis tried valiantly to get back into the match after falling behind and goalkeeper Abdulla Fareh made some crucial saves to keep their opponents from adding to the score.
But Chingangbam’s strike in the 95th minute put the game away, putting an early dent in Bahrain’s qualification aspirations.
Hosts Qatar and Brunei Darussalam faced off in last night’s other divisional fixture, played at Doha’s Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
The kingdom’s under-23s will look to bounce back when they play their second assignment against Brunei Darussalam on Saturday, scheduled for a 6.15pm kick-off at Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium.
They then complete their Group H schedule against home side Qatar on Tuesday next week at 8pm at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. Both times are Bahrain.
The Bahrainis must finish as Group H winners or be one of the four best runners-up from the 11 qualifying pools to secure their berth in next year’s AFC U23 Asian Cup, set to be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
The nationals are looking to qualify for the competition for only the second time in its history, adding to their debut in the 2020 event held in Bangkok, Thailand.
In last night’s contest, Bahrain head coach Ali Abdulmajeed fielded a starting 11 that included Fareh, Sayed Mahmoud Al Mosawi, Bader Al Asam, Mahmood Al Bannai, Hashem Khalaifat, Salman Younes, Issa Abdulla, Abdulla Al Subaie, Saud Mohsen, Hassan Sameer, and skipper Mubarak Mohammed.
Suhail put India in front in the 32nd minute after brilliantly dribbling around Bahrain’s Abdulla as he made his way into the box.
He then hit a low left-footed effort past Fareh, which was later enough to give his team the advantage at the break.
After the re-start, the Bahrainis tried to press for an equaliser and in the 73rd minute appeared to have got back on level terms.
Al Mosawi fired in from close range, but to their dismay, the goal was disallowed as Al Mosawi off-side.
Abdulla had a good attempt for Bahrain from just outside the area but his effort was collected by Indian goalkeeper Sahil.
The victors held on until the final whistle and took one step forward to potentially clinching qualification.
Bahrain and India are amongst a 44-strong field of Olympic teams from across the continent hoping to book a berth in the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026. Each of the 11 groups is being held in a centralised location.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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