Sport - Football

Injury-hit India is confident

HYDERABAD: A confident India will take on Myanmar in the semifinals of the AFC Challenge Cup football tournament at the Gachibowli Stadium here on Thursday. In the other semifinal, Tajikistan will clash with DPR Korea.

According to Bob Houghton, coach of the Indian squad, the side is in good shape although a few injury problems have surfaced. Though Sunil Chhetri had to receive stitches to sew up a cut near his eye, the coach feels that it may not be serious enough to prevent the striker from giving off his best.

Houghton also said that Steven Dias and Climax Lawrence both have ankle injuries while N.P. Pradeep has a strained hamstring. But the coach hoped that these players will regain their fitness. “If all players are fit, we will not make any changes to the team,” he said.

Houghton was unhappy with the fact that India’s match will begin at 4 p.m. because in his opinion, the ground would be too hard and the ball would bounce too high for effective control.

“In the Nehru Cup, the matches had started late in the evening and it helped the players to give good performances. However, there is always the rain which may soften up the ground,” the coach said.

He felt it did not matter who India played in the semifinal since both Myanmar and DPR Korea were good teams. It would be a tough psychological battle against both, he said.

“Our focus is entirely on the semifinal contest right now and we are not looking at any picture beyond that. It is dangerous to look too far ahead and lose focus on the task at hand,” said Houghton.

About the possibility of Bhaichung Bhutia being closely marked in the coming match, the coach said that this was nothing new for Bhutia and the Indian ace knew how to hoodwink his markers. In fact, all the players knew their roles well, he added.

Myanmar coach Marcos Antonio Falopa said that India would be a dangerous rival since it would be playing in familiar conditions. He ranked India as the number one team here followed by DPR Korea.

He disclosed that five of his players had played in the IFA Shield and the team was determined to do its best on Thursday.

Thursday’s matches: Semifinals: India vs Myanmar (4 p.m.), Tajikistan vs DPR Korea (7 p.m).

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