New Delhi: The Indian U-17 boys inspired by their eye-catching performances in the FIFA U – 17 World Cup, underwent their first training session in the national camp ahead of the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers. The players had a rigorous two hour practise session before a match with the U-19 boys.
India hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time in it’s history but could not follow it up with their performance, as the hosts were knocked out from the tournament after failing to win a single match in the group stage. However, despite the oust, the young boys in blue earned the love and applause of plaudits and fans worldwide, for their gritty display and nerves of steel against the stronger teams. Nevertheless the boys have become more experienced and as Jeakson Singh India’s first ever goal scorer in a FIFA tournament said, “We are no longer afraid of these teams. The World Cup has taught us how to handle pressure and how to seize the opportunities.”
The boys kicked of their preparations for the upcoming U-19 AFC Championship under the tutelage of Luis Norton de Matos at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi just a day prior to the ‘Festival of Lights.’
However not all of the 21-member squad chosen for the World Cup were called up as the Federation selected only 17 plyers from the U-17 team while another 11 players have been called up from the U-19 team for the week-long camp in New Delhi. Hendry Antonay, Sunny Dhaliwal, Namit Deshpande and Mohammed Shahjahan are among the four names to miss out.
“Sunny and Namit have exams while Hendry and Shahjahan will not fit into the squad. (Goalkeeper) Dheeraj Singh and (defender) Anwar Ali will join the squad tomorrow (Thursday),” a team official said reasoning their omission from the squad, quoted the Times of India. Meanwhile India has been paired with hosts Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Turkmenistan in group D and will face Saudi Arabia in their first match on November 4.
The U-17 boys last played a match on October 12 and got just a five-day rest before returning to the national fold. Coach De Matos however, did not see this as an excuse and undertook the team through a usual two-hour long training session, before dividing them into two sides for a match. “I know that they hardly got rest but it is important that these players continue the process. We will be facing strong oppositions and they need to keep playing at this high level,” he said at the end of the training.
The coach however, has to deal with few injuries including the groin injury of captain Amarjit Singh Kiyam who fight against time to be fit for the upcoming qualifiers.