Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Ace striker Sunil Chhetri on Wednesday promised a much better showing by the Indian Football team AFC Asian Cup to be held in UAE next month.
“We are well prepared for this prestigious event and I promise that we will give our best”” he told media persons after the lavish kit launch of the Blue Tigers in the Capital .
Chhetri also lavished praise on his teammates.“The reasons that we have qualified for the Asian Cup 2019 is because players like Sandesh Jhingan, Gurpreet Sandhu, Anirudh Thapa, Jeje and Udanta Singh and all others”.
“ It is because of these players that I go on the pitch without any pressure. They do all the hard work while I just tap the ball in,” he said to the applause of all.
Talking about the tournament and the pool in which India figures, he said “We will be looking to get no less than 3 points against Thailand.”
India has been draw in Group A of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 along with hosts UAE, Thailand and Bahrain. They play their first match against Thailand on January 06, followed by hosts UAE on January 10, and Bahrain on January 14, .
“I was involved in the mock draw that happened for the Asian Cup and I was wondering what team we could draw. I knew whichever team that we drew, it would be difficult for us. But now, we are ready to face anyone. We are well prepared and looking forward to the challenge,” Chhetri said.
Comparing India’s current preparation to the one in 2011, Chhetri added: “In 2011, we were together for 6 months. But this time of the year, all the boys that have been selected are playing constantly in the Hero Indian Super League and the Hero I-League. Now we just have to come together as a single unit and give it our best shot when we get to UAE.”
Apart from scoring goals,“I try my best to motivate the team .I believe that actions speak louder than words and we have come to a time where one player pushes the other to excel,” he quipped adding ” Nishu Kumar and Jerry Lalrinzuala are injured hence will not be a part of the team.”
All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel who was present at the press conference , opined that participation in the Asian Cup was a “precursor to India’s goal to achieve a berth in the World Cup by 2026.”
“The Asian dream needs to be achieved by 2026 as there will be 8 teams from Asia in the World Cup,” he said adding “You just always cannot live a dream and we have to make the Asian dream a reality. And with the form the national team is in, and if Sunil Chhetri and everybody can pull their feet together, we can make it a reality,”
This is the fourth time,- after 1964, 1984 and 2011- that India has qualified for the Asian. Cup.“We are mentally and physically prepared. We should always go for the maximum and we should try to win the tournament, let alone get out of the group stages,” Patel said
Head Coach Stephen Constantine was of the view that he Asian Cup is a massive tournament for India and everyone involved in the sport,” said. “We have three games from January 6-14 and I am focusing on them. We will take one game at a time and we have scouted Thailand intensively to the point that we have watched them 3-4 times for analysis
Admitting that the team has “enough time to acclimatize” he said “We look forward to make India proud”,
A 28-member squad will leave for Abu Dhabi on Thrusday. with the 23-member list to announced on December 26. In their preparation for the Cup India will play an International friendly against Oman on December 27
“We have tried our best to prepare in the best possible fashion. “We wanted to play big teams and strong teams like we did against China, Jordan. We next play Oman on December 27. We have got the right amount of competition to build us and are ready.”
Earlier a new Jersey for the team was unveiled at the function . The jersey pays a homage to the Indian Football Fans, who have affectionately been calling the Team “Blue Tigers.”
The new kit, designed by Six5Six,has stylized tiger stripes design element emblazoned on the sleeves reverberating the Blue Tigers’ predatory instincts. “There is a sense of freshness in the jersey and it’s always nice to have a kit we are comfortable in,” commented Chhetri