Troubled by injuries, poor form

India's show at the Asian Cup not surprising given the group but experience may help in World Cup qualifiers later

- Dhiman Sarkar

The triumph of the underdog is sport’s best story because it has every element of an unequal contest. It is also a rare thing. Which is why it shouldn’t surprise that India couldn’t pull off one in the 2024 Asian Cup football tournament.

Anything apart from three defeats against teams ranked 77, 34 and 11 places above them would have been a result worthy of hosannas. Based on FIFA rankings in December 2023, the website ‘Khel Now’ calculated that at an average ranking of 71.5, India’s group was the toughest in the 24-team competition. The averages of the remaining five groups were over 80 with Group A which had hosts Qatar, China, Tajikistan and Lebanon the highest at 87.5.

At 102, India were ranked the lowest in the group. Which wasn’t the case in 2019 when they opened with a dazzling 4-1 win against Thailand. A late penalty against Bahrain after a valiant fight against hosts UAE meant India finished last then. Which is where they ended this time too.