The Indian under-13 team, coached by Satheevan Balan, who are taking part in the AFC Youth Festival at Yazd City, Iran have completed their first round matches with three wins and two draws.
Kerala's Lazim Ali, who is one of the two Malayalee players in the team, found the back of the net as India thrashed Bhutan 4-0 in the opening match of the festival. Basu Mukherjee was the star of the match with a brace, while Lalremruata scored the other goal.
In the second match, India drew 1-1 with arch rivals Pakistan, Firozuddin Molla scoring India's only goal. India came back to the winning ways in the third match against Yazd City as Sandheep Bhatacharjee scored a brace and Basu Mukherjee completed the scoring in a 3-0 win.
In the return leg against Bhutan, Satheevan Balan fielded a second choice Indian team that registered a convincing 8-0 win over the opponents. In the last match of round one, hosts Iran held India to a 1-1 draw. Lalremuata scored for India in the 21st minute.
Impressed with the ways his boys have performed at Iran, coach Balan said, "The boys were not overawed by the situation. They played with a free mind and the results speak for themselves".
Image Courtesy: the-AIFF.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Sunday 22 May 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.