India finds itself in the Elite Pool, sharing the company of Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. The second group, known as the Challengers Pool, includes Hong Kong China, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iran, and Oman.
The defeat means, the two-time former champions will now have to beat Sri Lanka, Oman and Scotland, then hope results go in their favour to stand a chance of qualifying for the World Cup
Chhetri went past Argentine maestro Lionel Messi as the second most prolific scorer among active footballers with his 74th strike for the country in his 117th match.
A charity group which is trying to collect money for the surgery of a 6-month-old boy from Serbia with spinal muscular atrophy got the armband from a stadium worker who picked it up after the match.