The Indian women's football team, which thrashed Uzbekistan 6-0 in their opening match, got a rude awakening when they were humiliated 12-0 by strong contenders China in the Asian women's championship in Bangkok, Thailand.on Wednesday.
Sun Wen, the first woman to be nominated for the AFC Player of the Year award, emerged the star for the 'Steel Roses', scoring half a dozen goals in the match.
Bai Jie scored four goals while the other two goals were shared between Liu Ying and substitute Fan Yunjie.
It was one-way traffic after Jie opened the account in the ninth minute. That was the beginning of the rout as China scored thrice in three minutes, in the 20th, 21st, 22nd.
Four minutes later, Jie made it 5-0 and India were lucky not to concede any more before half-time.
But China, after changing ends, were quickly back to business and goals rained in the 60th, 62nd, 66th, 70th, 74th, 87th and 90th minutes.
With this defeat, India slipped to third spot in Group C behind China and Vietnam, who beat Uzbekistan 4-2 to take the second spot. India will take on Vietnam in a crucial last league match tomorrow and must register a win to entertain any hopes of progressing to the last four.
The three group toppers and the best second-placed team will qualify for the semi-finals.
The championship, which runs until June 21, serves as a qualifier for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003, scheduled to be held in the United States.