India u-23 loses to Vietnam 1-3

Cuttack: India Under-23 side struck an early goal but later found Vietnam attack to hot to handle as they went down 1-3 in their first international friendly match in the run-up to next month`s Asian Games, here on Saturday.

Balwant Singh was bang on target in the ninth minute but Vietnam Under-23 side restored parity in the 37th minute through Nguyen Ngoe Bien before scoring two more goals in the second session at the Barabati Stadium. Bien scored another goal in the 56th minute while team-mate Anh Duc took the game away from the Indians` reach with a goal in the 78th minute.Coach Sukhvinder Singh fielded most of the players who were part of the SAFF Cup-winning squad but failed to start their Asian Games preparation on a winning note. PTI