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Afro-Asian Games
By S.R. Suryanarayan
But then this has also been the sport that went through the most peculiar situations. Cameroon's late withdrawal was the first set back. Then its replacement Ghana failed to turn up forcing a rescheduling of matches and finally the run of an Iranian navy club team in the garb of a national squad! Sending a junior team itself was considered robbing some sheen away from the Games when it was portrayed as a competition of the best of Asia and Africa. Still, a team like Uzbekistan, which has come with its under-20 squad was acceptable if anything for the fact that the country had qualified for the final round of the Youth World Cup in the Emirates next month and decided to utilise the Games experience to bolster its strength. Iran could have done that. In fact the understanding seemed to be for the under-23 team's participation but the confession by the team Coach Irandoost at the end of the last league match must tantamount to taking the host for a ride. Just as well then that the Iran team is out of the competition. Any further progress would have been an embarrassment to the organisers and gone against the spirit of the Games. Of the other two which went out, Malaysia can consider itself unlucky while Burkina Faso was too inexperienced a bunch to aspire for more. Malaysia had looked a qualifier until the last ten minutes of the match against Rwanda when Jimmy Iraguha entered, struck twice and the rest, as they say, is history. By that ability to strike a dramatic note alone Rwanda looks the dark horse. Two matches in a three-team group (India is the other team) cannot help in striking the best combination but Rwanda, even though without eight professionals, proved it still has enough strength to unsettle an opponent. Balinda Aziz, Jimmy Mulisa, Sibomana Abdul are the kind of players who can be irrepressible and reflect the true African spirit of endurance and perseverance. Against the `tired players' as Uzbek Coach Viktor Borisov was to complaint about his team, Rwanda could prove more than a handful. Uzekistan additionally will also not have the services of Islam Innomov, the only player among the four semifinalists who will miss participation through two yellow card bookings. But a good goalkeeper in Ignatiy Nesterov and intelligent prober in Shavkat Salomov form Uzbekistan's strength apart from its methodical build-up in attack and capacity to throw up surprises. Zimbabwe looks to India with envy. For, unlike his team, as Coach Nelson Matongorere submits, India has had a relatively long rest after its league engagements. He complains loudly of poor scheduling of matches but surely the feelings will get translated in a different way on the field. Zimbabwe is a fighting unit, a side which raised the highest win margin (4-1) against Burkina Faso and has a set of ball players who can double as good strikers. Albert Mbano, Vusumuzi Nyoni, Mashiri, Ronald Badza, Tsida are a few who have tasted blood. That apart, their robust approach should be a bother for the Indians. Nonetheless as the only first-rung national side in the competition, the Indian show has been encourging. Be it goalkeeper Sangarama Mukherjee or defence where M. Suresh, Mahesh Gawli and Satish Bharathi have been adequate. Tomba, Renedy ,Climax Lawrence and Venkatesh have kept the links going for Vijayan and Bhaichung Bhutia upfront. Overall the team looks compact. "Will give 110 per cent" is Coach Stephen Constantine's claim. The team may truly require that resolve.
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