Pariyar stars in India’s win

CHITTAGONG: A brace by Tata Football Academy’s (TFA) Vimal Pariyar resulted in a 2-0 victory for India over Afghanistan in their first match of the inaugural AFC Challenge Cup in Chittagong, Bangladesh, on Saturday.

India dominated the Group A encounter from the outset with Pariyar’s shot in the 19th minute hitting the woodwork.

However, the opener was not long in coming. Bungo Thokchom Singh skirted two defenders in the 35th minute and supplied the ball to Pariyar, who just had to tap it in.

Afghanistan mounted some attacks in the second half but missed two easy chances. In the 52nd minute, Hafizullah Qadami missed a sitter on a cross from Mohammad Dalal Afshar before failing to find the net 13 minutes later.

Pariyar doubled the lead in the 60th minute on a pass from Xavier Vijay Kumar to make the match safe.