Aussie Williams become desi, scores inside 5 minutes of India debut

Ryan Williams, the first foreign-born player in the Indian system, made a brilliant start to his India career with a goal on debut. The 32-year-old striker scored inside five minutes to put India 1-0 up against Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup qualifier in Kochi.

Williams had a tap in from a Manvir Singh cross to get an impressive home crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi bouncing. Lallianzuala Chhangte and Abhishek Singh Tekcham had played India out of a Hong Kong press from the defensive half before Manvir was released into a vacant area on the right flank.

Williams still had to time his run and meet the low cross at the far post to score. He did appear to be coming in from an offside position, but the flag stayed down, and the crowd was on its feet.

Williams, born in Perth and having represented Australia at various levels, recently accepted Indian citizenship. His mother hails from India, while his grandfather played for Bombay in the Santosh Trophy, making him eligible for the famous Blue jersey.

Williams has the No 10 jersey and the Blue Tigers might want to believe this is the start of a glorious era, in which more players of Indian origin would want to play under the tricolour. However, the condition that they chose to hold only the Indian passport still remains.

Williams was in line to start for India in the previous round of the Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh in November, but did not get a timely No Objection Certificate (NOC) from FIFA. Abneet Bharti, a Nepal-born defender who plays in Bolivia, had attended the national camp in Kochi but was not granted the NOC to make his debut. He, however, should become eligible in the next window.