Anwar Ali among scorers as India rout Hong Kong 4-0 to top group

Anwar Ali's persistence and optimism in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds paid rich dividends on Tuesday. Thanks to goals from Anwar, Sunil Chhetri -- he does that almost every other day -- Manvir Singh and Ishan Pandita, India capped off their historic AFC Asian Cup qualification campaign in style, sweeping aside a strong Hong Kong side 4-0 under heavy rains at the Salt Lake Stadium. Igor Stimac's side brought out it's A game on a stormy night and started off with a blitz as Anwar (2nd) and Chhetri (45') gave India a 2-0 lead. It was then a tale of super subs as Manvir (85th) and Pandita (90+3rd) came off the bench to complete the rout and help India (nine points) top group D with three wins on the trot, ahead of Hong Kong (six).

The Blue Tigers raced to a 1-0 lead with the 21-year-old centre back Anwar scoring his maiden international goal four years after his career nearly ended on health grounds. The 2017 Under-17 World Cup star, whose career had been put on hold after being diagnosed with a rare heart disease (Hypertrophic Myocardiopathy), scored from a short Ashique Kuruniyan corner with his right-footed strike into the top corner. The versatile defender, playing alongside Sandesh Jhingan, not only made his presence felt in the backline but also made some fluid moves up front. The talismanic Chhetri doubled the lead just before the break from a 30-yard freekick to bring up his fourth goal of the tournament. Jeakson Singh floated in a brilliant freekick as the skipper controlled it brilliantly with a deft first touch before calmly slotting it home to notch his 84th international strike that saw him go level with Hungarian great Ferenc Puska in the chart for the all-time leading international scorers. He