MUMBAI: In hindsight it could be termed a blessing in disguise though that was not how Indian soccer lovers felt at the start of it all.

The much awaited 'live' telecast of the India-Japan Asian Zone Group 3 World Cup qualifier, which Dubai-based Ten Sports had announced it had the broadcast rights for, did not materialise today.

Not that the fans missed much though. They were spared the agony of watching India being thrashed 7-0 by Japan.

A spokesperson for Ten Sports channel, which had announced the telecast schedule of the match from 4 p.m. today, told PTI here: "There seems to be some internal problem in Japan because of which the live telecast could not happen. Even we were caught by surprise by the development".

The channel is trying to bring to the Indian viewers a delayed telecast of the same match, played in the Japanese city of Saitama, the spokesperson added.