India suffered a 2-4 defeat at the hands of Kuwait in the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup Thailand 2025, at the Jomtien Beach Arena, here on Saturday.The two sides were tied 1-1 at the end of the first period, while Kuwait led 2-1 at the end of the second.
Played over three periods of 12 minutes each, India kept coming back against Kuwait, but the latter stole the show in the third period, when captain Mohammed Hajeyah (10’, 30’, 36’) completed his hat-trick. Wayel Alshammari (20’) scored the other goal for Kuwait, while Satish Subhash (10’) and Rohith Yesudas (27’) were the two scorers for India.
India began with a high tempo, attacking straight from kickoff, and Kuwait goalkeeper Mohammed Alshaer had to make a couple of fine saves to maintain status quo.
Kuwait struck first, however, as Hajeyah converted a direct free kick, but India struck back seconds later, Satish heading it in at the far post.
The side from the Gulf took the lead for a second time, when in the 20th minute, Wayel Alshammari headed a cross in from Omar Alrouqi.
India levelled the proceedings again in the third period, as Satish cut one back for captain Rohith Yesudas, who finished off the move by placing the ball into the bottom corner.
Hajeyah scored his second, a spectacular back volley this time in the 30th minute, putting Kuwait back in the lead at a crucial moment. India had a golden opportunity to equalise just seconds later when Mohammed Akram’s free-kick was parried into the path of Yesudas by the Kuwait goalkeeper. However, the India captain sent his shot wide.
Hajeyah completed his hat-trick with just around 15 seconds left on the clock, a similar back volley as his second goal, putting the game well beyond India’s reach.
India will play Lebanon in their last match of Group A on March 24 at the Jomtien Beach Arena.
The match will kick-off at 3.30 pm IST.(UNI)
