India at the AFC Asian Cup

[2][3] In 1964, India gained a direct qualification to the finals of the tournament after several Western Zone teams pulled out due to the participation of Israel.

14 years after the country missed out on FIFA World Cup participation, the India national team had earned the opportunity to take centre stage in Asian football under English coach Harry Wright.

Played in a round-robin format, the 1964 edition of the Asian Cup was won by hosts Israel but it had only four participants - one team from each zone.

The legendary Krishanu Dey was part of Serbian coach Milovan Ćirić's India national team that battled it out with heavyweights like China PR and Iran.

Gouramangi Singh and Chhetri scored in either half as India lost 2–5 to Bahrain and Chhetri's first-half spot-kick was the team's only consolation as South Korea thrashed them 1–4 in the final game in Group C.[2][8] Eight years later, India national team qualified and was set to travel to UAE for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup under head coach Stephen Constantine.

[2][9] The team won their opening match against Thailand with the help of Sunil Chhetri's brace and broke the 55 years winless drought.