New Delhi: India defeated higher-ranked Tajikistan 2-1 in their opening match of the CAFA Nations Cup football tournament on Friday, August 29. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu delivered a strong performance with a series of sensational saves, including a spot-kick, as the Blue Tigers started a new era under coach Khalid Jamil.

Defender Anwar Ali opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the match, and Sandesh Jhingan also netted in the 13th minute. The visitors defended brilliantly against Tajikistan for the remaining 75 minutes.

Jamil couldn’t have asked for a better start in his first match as head coach, and the credit should go to captain Gurpreet, who was sidelined by former coach Manolo Marquez but returned to the starting XI against Tajikistan.

Lack of quality in the frontline is still a huge problem for India, but the Blue Tigers ended their scoring drought in the first........

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