Hyderabad: On Tuesday evening when defender Adil Khan was walking out of his hotel room for the team meeting, an untimely phone call left him bit annoyed. On match day the burly defender doesn't like to be disturbed, but his family has had a heartbreaking news to pass on him.
Hours before India's 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Joint-Qualifiers at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium, Adil's father, Badrudin Khan, was being wheeled to operation theatre as he required surgery for two heart blockages.
His family told him over the phone from Panaji that the operation would be performed when he would appear for Blue Tigers against Bangladesh.
The SESA Football Academy graduate took a deep breathe and put his phone off. Till the final whistle, he kept the news to himself. He didn't show any emotion on the field.
He was found a little disturbed at the very onset of the match. He made a couple of silly mistakes. But when the Syrian referee blew the final whistle Adil basked in the glory scoring a last gasp equaliser for India, his first for the national team.
A 1-1 draw against world no. 187, Bangladesh, isn't definitely India's best performance, but Adil, who made a return to the Indian team after seven years, put up a great effort as he made overhead clearance near the goalline to keep the Blue Tigers' hope for a point alive in the match.
And then when the time was running out fast, he met with a brilliant header from Brandon Fernandes' cross at the near post to put India on equal terms in the match in the 88th minute to help the hosts earn a point.
- "I was a little upset before the match. Scoring such a late goal and earning a point, in front of such passionate crowd, there were so much of emotions involved," said Adil, who had to rush to Goa immediately after the match to look after his father, who is now recovering well from the surgery.
- Talking about his commitment to the game, the 31-year-old defender said, "In my entire career, I have not thought about anything when I am playing. Those 90 minutes are most important for me. Everyone has problems (in their life)."
After the end of the match, Adil dedicated his lone goal to his father, wife and injured defender Sandesh Jhingan.
However, he said he is happy with the performance but the result could have been better.
- "I am happy with my performance, although I could have done much better in the first half. I am happy with the team too, but not the result. We could have scored three or four goals, if we had converted the chances that we created," Adil signed off.
