Young heroes arrive sans fanfare

By Our Sports Reporter

KOLKATA, FEB. 25. The triumphant Indian under-17 team returned with the glittering ICC- ACC Asia Cup here on Sunday evening only to be greeted by vacant lobbies.

Surprisingly, a solitary Cricket Association of Bengal representative was the only person awaiting the team's arrival from Dhaka. The absence of garlands and the shouts of accolades - as happens with the seniors - did not seem to trouble the young heroes, who appeared preoccupied with the pride of their achievement and with the immediate need of getting a connecting flight back home.

Speaking to The Hindu, Indian coach Roger Binny said the boys had shown total commitment and sincerity and the title was thus a ``true reflection of their ability.'' The coach, who had previously guided the under-15 boys to a similar feat, said that the boys deserved greater credit as they were given a tight schedule which allowed little rest, initially.

Incidentally, the Indian team was the last to reach the venue owing to a late government clearance. It had its first match postponed leading to a cramped schedule.

``It was very hectic for us, we had to play the first four games on the trot and never got a break before completing the league phase,'' he said.

The team manager, Mr. Ashok Anand, added the boys were forced into greater travails as they had to travel a great length outside the city to reach the venue, which was around 30 km from Dhaka. Only the final was played at the Bangabandhu Stadium, he added.

The best show came against Pakistan in the semifinal as India carved out a 77-run win. ``This put us in sight of the title,'' said Binny, who added that the team's morale had initially received a blow following a loss to Sri Lanka in the group league stage. India had qualified as the group runner-up behind the Lankans in group B. ``Beating Bangladesh thus became an easier task in the final,'' he said.

He was all praise for the batsmen, especially Deepak Chougule (Karnataka) and Monish Mishra (Madhya Pradesh).

Some of the members of the India under- 17 team, with coach Roger Binny (standing fourth from left) and manager Mr Ashok Anand (third from right), that won the ICC-ACC Asia Cup in Dhaka on arrival at the Kolkata airport on Sunday.

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Section  : Sport
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