Watch: Manisha’s free-kick at Women’s Asia Cup breathes life into Indian football

India’s campaign at the Women’s Asia Cup ended without a point, but Manisha Kalyan gave the fans a moment to savour before Taiwan confirmed a 3-1 victory in Sydney on Tuesday to advance to the quarter-finals.

India had already been eliminated heading into the game, but they pushed for an early lead when Martina Thokchom’s header struck the post. Taiwan took the lead shortly after, as Sanju Yadav’s wayward pass to the keeper was intercepted by Chen Jin-wen, who crossed for Su Yu-hsuan to finish easily.

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MANISHA’S MOMENT

Manisha Kalyan pulled India level in the 39th minute with a stunning long-range free kick. Her powerful left-footed strike rattled the crossbar before bouncing behind the line, briefly raising hopes of an unlikely result.

Those hopes did not last long. Taiwan retook the lead on the stroke of halftime in fortunate circumstances, when Hsu Yi-yun’s penalty came off the post, struck Indian keeper Elangbam Panthoi Chanu’s back and rolled into the net. Wu Kai-ching then set up Chen Yu-chin with a defence-splitting through ball in the 77th minute, and Taiwan’s place in the last eight was confirmed.

India ended their campaign with zero points and a goal difference of minus 14, the worst in the group stage. Their 11-0 defeat to Japan at the weekend had already made qualification impossible.

JAPAN CRUISE THROUGH

Elsewhere in Group C, Japan remained the tournament’s standout side, easing past Vietnam 4-0 to finish the group stage without conceding a single goal. Yui Hasegawa’s cross was headed in by Rio Ueki in the 21st minute, before

Vietnam keeper Khong Thi Hang kept the score respectable in the first half with a series of diving saves. Japan put the game to bed after the break, with Maika Hamano, Aoba Fujino and Kiko Seike all scoring within 16 minutes.

Vietnam finished with three points but ranked bottom among the third-placed teams, with Uzbekistan and the Philippines advancing to the quarter-finals on goal difference. Taiwan will face defending champions China on Saturday, while Japan take on the Philippines a day later.

– Ends