Sridarth’s scored a brace as India registered a convincing 5-0 win over Turkmenistan in its opening match at the AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers here on Wednesday. Shubho Paul, Taison Singh and substitute Himanshu Jangra were the other scorers.
Both sides had a go at each other in the opening exchanges. While Anish Mazumder and Singson held off the Turkmen attack, the combination of Pritam and Taison, down the right flank, looked dangerous for India.
Just ahead of the half-hour mark, India took the lead through winger Shubho. Just a few minutes ahead of half-time, India doubled the lead. Taison forced himself into the area to play a cutback which was turned in by Sridarth.
A few minutes into the restart, Taison added the third, as he smashed in a cross by Shubho. Striker Himanshu was played through into the box by Maheson and he went on to finish with great aplomb. Sridarth completed the tally, scoring in injury time.
