The Indian men’s football team was knocked out of the Asian Games after a 2-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in their round of 16 match at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China on Thursday. 

The Indian team showed off their defensive prowess and managed the scoreboard to remain goalless in the first half. The defenders with ever-reliable Sandesh Jhingan protected the backline with gusto. 

However, in the second half, everything went downhill. Khalil Marran struck twice in six minutes. He swiped a clean header from a corner in the 51' and for the next he, from a precise through ball, gave the outpaced and outspent Indian team a serious blow. 

India, the two-time Asian Games gold medalists were seeking to end a more than five-decade-long medal drought, but the path kept getting even more challenging.