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A golden chance for India

Abhijit Sen Gupta

Subrata Pal is expected to do well
If Chhetri, Abhishek and Bhutia strike form, India can tackle the best

HYDERABAD: India will take on Afghanistan on the opening day of the AFC Challenge Cup football championship at the Gachibowli stadium here on Wednesday. Coach Bob Houghton said the tournament was a great opportunity for India to improve its status at the Asian level.

“It would be important to win this tournament since the winner gets to take part in the Asia Cup. And there are few teams below rank 15 (in Asia) which can get a chance to play at that level.

“Although three games in five days will put a heavy strain on the players, all teams are facing the same problem and we have to do our best. Last year, our performance in the Nehru Cup gave a boost to Indian football and we are hoping to repeat that,” the coach added.

Speaking about injuries, Houghton said that goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya and forward Tarif Ahmed have been left out. Several other players are also on the injured list but they have been included in the hope that they will recover and play in the tournament.

The players who have injuries are Steven Dias, Deepak Mondal and Mahesh Gawli, while Surkumar Singh is just coming out of injury and has not played much.

“However, in football, many teams carry injured players. And those whose injuries are minor often recover and get to play. I am hopeful that these players will play in the later stages,” the coach said.

Calculated risk

Houghton felt that since he had 23 players, a calculated risk could be taken in this respect. If the list was 20, it would not have been advisable to risk including the doubtful starters.

“We will focus on each game and reassess our requirements after each match. Our preparation has been good. We had a good outing in Portugal and the tour helped us realise a few things. During the practice match a few days ago against Malaysia, I was able to estimate the form of our key players,” said Houghton.

Among the players to watch out for in the Indian team are Subrata Pal, one of the top goalkeepers in the country. His anticipation and reflexes are extremely sharp and he is expected to do well.

Midfielder Climax Lawrence is another player who can rise to the occasion. N.P. Pradeep’s talent and opportunism have been a tremendous boost to the team on numerous occasions.

Banking on Bhutia

Up front, there is the mercurial Sunil Chhetri, well known for his ball control and accurate shooting. If he, along with Abhishek Yadav and Baichung Bhutia, strike form, they can be difficult for any rival to handle. Much will depend on the experienced Bhutia who has been India’s most inspiring player for more than a decade.

Tajikistan coach Kodirov Pulod said his team would do its best to defend the title. But all teams are worthy opponents, he added.

Pulod, too, spoke of having some injured players in his team. He admitted that the match schedule was very tight, but said that his players had worked hard and were prepared for anything.

Wednesday’s matches: Turkmenistan vs Tajikistan (4 p.m.); India vs Afghanistan (6.30 p.m.).

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