new delhi india showcased their resilience by securing a 11 draw against vietnam in the opening group d match of the afc u17 asian cup football championship held in pathum thani thailand on saturday malemngamba thokchom played a crucial role in indias performance by netting a timely equaliservietnam had taken the lead towards the end of the first half courtesy of a goal scored by long vu however indias leftback thokchom displayed his prowess and determination by helping his team restore parity in the 69th minute ensuring that india earned a valuable point in the competitionthe draw against vietnam sets the stage for indias upcoming group league matches against uzbekistan and japan in the other group league encounter uzbekistan held japan to a 11 draw highlighting the competitive nature of the tournamentfor the young indian side it was a cautious yet controlled start as they enjoyed better ball possession for large parts of the play and were raiding the vietnam half time and againearly freekicks on either flank for india meant that vanlalpeka guite and lalpekhlua ralte could put in dangerous balls into the vietnam box but the chances were headed awayakash tirkey had a great chance when he dribbled past two defenders and but his shot went a foot widevietnam took the lead against the run of play in the dying minutes of the first half when they cleared a corner by danny and long vu darted off past the halfline to initiate a counterattack he swiftly ran into the indian box and slotted it into the netlong vu could have doubled the lead but his header in added time of the first half crashed against the upright before it was clearedindia head coach bibiano fernandes decided to throw thanglalsoun gangte in place of midfielder tirkeythe blue colts began to find their rhythm as the first 10 minutes of the second half came to an end danny tried his luck with a back volley but it was straight at the keeperthe leftback thokchom drew india level with 21 minutes left on the clock when his leftfooted effort from long range nestled into the top corner in a spectacular fashion giving ngoc no chanceindia had a great opportunity to take the lead deep into added time when a cross by captain korou singh was attacked by gangte but the shot was saved substitute omang dodum got on the rebound but volleyed it widewith pti inputs