Remembering India’s Asian Cup 2011 campaign: India’s first goal in 47 years

Gouramangi Singh’s celebrations after the goal against Bahrain

For India, just being part of the 2011 Asian Cup was an achievement as it was for the first time in 27 years that they were playing in the biggest competition in the continent. So, a 4-0 defeat against Australia on the opening day wasn’t a surprise and instead, the fighting second half display against Asia’s highest ranked nation was commendable.

But despite being the minnows of the tournament, something more than just fighting spirit was needed from the Indian side to give the thousands of fans in Qatar and the millions back home something to cheer about.

There were more than 11,000 at the Al Saad Stadium for India’s second game against Bahrain and the majority had come to cheer for Bob Houghton’s side. So despite playing in a neutral venue, India had every reason to feel at home.

However, they got off to the worst possible start as the skipper for the day, Climax Lawrence gave away the penalty which Faouzi Mubarak Aaish converted in the eighth minute.

Prior to this game, India hadn’t scored in the Asian Cup since 1964, where they finished runners-up. Between 1964 and 2011, they had only featured in the 1984 edition where they managed just one draw in four matches and failed to score. So, Chuni Goswami’s strike in the 3-1 win over Hong Kong in 1964 was the last time India had found the back of the net.

But that changed just two minutes after Aaish’s opener as Gouramangi Singh equalised, much to the delight of the fans not only inside the stadium but all around the world. The goal, India’s first in 47 years in the Asian Cup, came when Renedy Singh’s well taken free kick was headed on by Abhishek Yadav for Gouramangi, who slotted home from close range.

In a way, it was fitting that the historic goal belonged to Gouramangi as going into the tournament, he was possibly India’s most in-form player, having won the AIFF Player of the Year award in 2010. The Manipuri defender, who had made his debut in Nehru Cup 2007, had helped Churchill Brothers win the I-League in 2010 and had a trial with Australian club Melbourne Heart.

Gouramangi’s successful 12 months going into Qatar 2011 was capped off with this historic moment and was by no means a surprise, as despite playing in defence, the 27-year-old had built up a reputation of scoring important goals, like the winner against Bhutan in the 2008 SAFF Cup semi-final. His most recent goal came in the 2012 Nehru Cup final against Cameroon ‘B’.

Looking back at that memorable goal and the Asian Cup campaign overall, Gouramangi told Sportskeeda, “We were not used to playing opposition of that quality, so it was a great experience even though the results weren’t great. When we had qualified for that tournament by winning the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008, we were aware that we had qualified after a really long time.

“But once we were out on the pitch, we didn’t think about history or any achievement. So, I never had a target to score a particular goal or something like that. However, yes, when we conceded early against Bahrain, we desperately wanted to come back in the game and fortunately, I was in the right place and right time to make it 1-1. It gave our fans something to cheer about and that always makes us players happy.”

Sunil Chhetri scored the other goal in that game against Bahrain which India lost 5-2 and the striker also netted in the 4-1 defeat to South Korea. Let’s hope the wait for our next Asian Cup goal ends in the next edition in 2015 in Australia, for which we still have to qualify of course.

Watch all the goals scored by India in the 2011 Asian Cup here: