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The Indian men's national team suffered a humiliating thrashing at the hands of hosts China in their Asian Games 2023 opener on Tuesday, September 19. Next up, the Blue Tigers will lock horns against Bangladesh at the Xiaoshan Sports Center Stadium on Thursday.
A bit of context highlights the Blue Tigers' valiant effort in the 5-1 defeat. Igor Stimac's men reached Hangzhou, China, a day before the tie and went into the encounter without a single minute of pre-match training.
The first half against the Red Dragons was a evenly-contested affair with both sides settling for a 1-1 stalemate. Rahul KP scored the equalizer for India with a stunning effort moments before the half-time whistle.
However, the absence of match practice became evident every passing minute. Sumit Rathi, Bryce Miranda, and Amarjit Singh Kiyam went down with muscle fatigue. China focused on expanding their play, carving open the visitors' backline.
The Blue Tigers found themselves out of depth and ended up conceding a flurry of goals. However, Bangladesh are expected to be a slightly easier test, and India still have their hopes alive for reaching the knockouts.
Two teams from each group will advance to the Asian Games' knockout rounds, along with the four best third-placed teams. India's path to the Round of 16 remains open if they can secure a victory in their upcoming game.
Meanwhile, the Bengal Tigers are coming into the tie on the back of a 1-0 defeat against Myanmar and will be hoping to return to winning ways.
India vs Bangladesh: Team News
Igor Stimac's men have multiple concerns when it comes to fitness issues. As mentioned earlier, plenty of their players went down with cramps. The head coach has yet to provide any injury updates, but Deepak Tangri, Narender Gahlot, and Aniket Jadhav are expected to be out of the encounter.
Bangladesh have no major injury concerns of their own.
India vs Bangladesh: Predicted Lineups for the Asian Games 2023 clash
India: Gurmeet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Lalchungnunga, Abdul Rabeeh, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Ayush Dev Chhetri, Rahul KP, Vincy Barretto, Sunil Chhetri, Rahim Ali.
Bangladesh: Mitul Marma (GK), Rahmat Mia, Hasan Murad, Shakil Hossain, Isa Faysal, Mojibur Rahman, Mohammad Ridoy, Papon Singh, Robiul Hasan, Sumon Reza, M Fahim.
India vs Bangladesh: Prediction for the Asian Games 2023 tie
The Blue Tigers have ample headaches when it comes to the availability of players and the squad has been slimmed down because of absentees.
However, India are still a capable unit. Bangladesh will likely put up a resilient performance, but Igor Stimac's men are the favorites win this Asian Games tie.
Prediction: India 3-1 Bangladesh
