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India U-19 held to a 2-2 draw by Shanghai U-19 team

India U-19

The Indian U-19 national team were held to a 2-2 draw by Shanghai City Games U-19 Team in a friendly in Shanghai on Monday.

India will be playing the Chinese U-17 national team on Saturday and Monday as part of their Exposure Trip ahead of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers which will be held in Doha in the first week of October.

The nucleus of the squad had represented India in the Final Phase of the AFC U-16 Championship in Tehran in 2012 where the Indian colts came agonisingly close to a quarterfinal berth. The top-four of the competition eventually earned a ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Coming to the match, Daniel Lalhlimpuia scored both the goals for India in the first half. The Shanghai Team, who have been preparing together for three years for the Chinese National City Games starting in September, came back from 2-0 down to score twice in the first essay itself. The Shanghai outfit had five China international junior players.

The India U-19 boys have been training at the Elite Academy in Goa under Head Coach Colm Joseph Toal.

(Report & Picture courtesy AIFF Media)