Gurpreet Singh Sandhu played the match of his life under the bar as India held Asian champions Qatar to a famous 0-0 draw to earn their first point in a Group E second round World Cup qualifying match in Doha on Tuesday.
Sans the services of talisman Sunil Chhetri who was indisposed, Gurpreet led the Indian team who are 41 rungs below Qatar in the FIFA rankings.
Sandhu, who was recently awarded the Arjuna award, made a string of saves to keep the hosts at bay for the entire duration of the match. Qatar had 27 shots on target and yet failed to beat Gurpreet as the team under Croatian coach Igor Stimac celebrated the draw like a victory at the final whistle.
“Very proud of the boys. The way we showed perseverance was amazing. (There was) incredible support away from home and I think this support is something that helped us throughout the game and helped us earn a point away,” said the stand-in skipper.
Even as the team celebrates their first point of these World Cup qualifiers, Twitter was abuzz with fans back home in India celebrating the 27-year-old’s heroics between the bars.
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