NEW DELHI: India's hopes of a historic entry into the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers were dashed by poor refereeing as Qatar emerged 2-1 winners in Doha on Tuesday.
India took the lead through Lallianzuala Chhangte's 37th minute goal, but controversy struck when the referee allowed Yousef Aymen's goal to stand despite the ball appearing to have gone out of play.
The contentious decision disrupted India's rhythm, and Asian champions Qatar capitalized, scoring their second goal through Ahmed Al-Rawi in the 85th minute.
In another final second round match, Kuwait defeated Afghanistan 1-0, securing both Qatar and Kuwait's progression to the second round.
Despite the recent international retirement of Sunil Chhetri, arguably the country's greatest footballer, Igor Stimac's team defied expectations and looked set for victory after Chhangte's strike.
The 27-year-old winger from Lunglei, Mizoram, accurately placed the ball into the bottom corner following a diagonal pass from Brandon Fernandes.
Having received the ball, he made no mistake in outsmarting his marker and broke the deadlock to silence the backers of the fancied hosts at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Chhangte's goal was a personal redemption, as he had previously missed two chances created by Brandon. The strike also made him India's highest-scoring active player with 8 goals.
Indian supporters at the stadium made their presence felt, at times outperforming the home crowd in their cheering after Chhangte's goal.
Prior to Chhangte's strike, Manvir Singh had a great opportunity to put India ahead but failed to convert.
Qatar also missed a chance to open the scoring, thanks to a brilliant save by Mehtab Singh, who cleared the ball off the line.
Notably, this marked the first time Qatar had trailed in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers thus far.
(With PTI inputs)
