India came back successfully in their first match of the tri-nations football tournament on Saturday, defeating Mauritius with a 2-1 score in Mumbai. Kerala Blasters defensive stalwart Sandesh Jhingan made his debut as the captain of the Indian national football team in the match.
The hosts conceded a goal early on in the match but it was former Bengaluru FC striker Robin Singh who scored the equaliser right before the half time.
In the second half, it was Balwant Singh who scored the winner.
"I'm really happy with the win, we had two special goals from our side," said Jhingan after the match. Talking on the wonderful comeback the Indian team made to win it, the centre-back mentioned: "The team has grown a lot and that is showing. We went down and came back.
"This shows the spirit of the team. Not only Robin or Balwant, everyone -- Pritam Kotal to Amrinder Singh to Eugeneson Lyngdoh, performed as a unit. The defenders and the attackers performed as a whole.
"Now, Inshallah, we'll qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in UAE."
India take on Macau in an away match on September 5 in an AFC Asian Cup qualifiers fixture.
