India may be 'booted' out of SAF Games football

AIFF may be gunning for FIFA WC, but the reality is that India be kicked out of South Asian Games. Check out why.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) maybe selling its dream of a World Cup debut in 2010 but the harsh reality is that the Indian SAF Games team runs the risk of being kicked out of medal contention simply because the players don't have the right boots.

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In contrast, the BCCI recently allowed Team India cricketers to get shoes of their choice from a sports goods manufacturing major.

The Indian football team face Bangladesh, their strongest Pool B opponent, in a do-or-die match on Saturday that would decide whether they stay in contention or pack their bag for a premature return.

Thanks to the steady downpour for the last one week, the soggy Sugathadasa Stadium, venue of the SAF Games football and athletics competitions, sports an ugly look with muck all over it and the Indian under-20 team found it difficult to maintain their balance on the pitch, let alone scoring.

And no wonder, they were held to a goalless draw by a lowly Afghanistan in their Pool B opener while Wednesday's encounter against Nepal also ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

"Few of us have the 'changer' boot, where the spike is longer than the usual and that helps you get a good grip on the ground. When you play on a ground like that, it's almost a must. I'm not giving excuses but if your mind is occupied with the thought of maintaining balance first, you can't play quality soccer," said a player, on condition of anonymity.

Talking to UNI, goalkeeping coach Hemanta Dora also admitted it had become a big handicap.

"Yes, the players don't have the kind of boots which suit this kind of ground and the first two matches they did have problem. We didn't expect the ground to be so soggy. During our Goa camp, we read about South Africa playing a Test series here and thought it must have been quite sunny and dry. But we were caught by surprise and the boots have become a major issue," admitted the former international.

Meanwhile, after two successive draws, India is hoping to be third time lucky, even though that would mean overcoming a formidable Bangladesh. Dora feels inexperience let India down but he has not lost his hopes.

"We have come here with an under-20 team and most of the players are awestruck by the magnitude of the event. You have to consider that. It's an under-20 team and we have four-five players who will play under-17 next year. This team lacks experience and that's why they couldn't live up to the expectations.

"If you compare to the last SAF Games, you had players like Baichung Bhutia in the side and we won Silver. After the first game, they showed signs of improvement in the second and I’m expecting a good show tomorrow and hoping to reach at least the semifinals," Dora added.

Interestingly, Pool B is yet to see a result and India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have two points from as many matches. Saturday's matches will decide which two teams would qualify for the last four stage.

India will miss the service of defender Gobin Singh who got the marching order in the match against Nepal for his second yellow card of the match. Sushil Kumar Singh scored the lone goal for India in the match against Nepal and the Mohun Bagan striker admitted he would be under pressure to deliver again.

"I tried to motivate the team before the match against Nepal but we lack senior players in the side and some of us need guidance out there in the middle. Its clearly the inexperience that did us in," he said.

"And despite their low rankings, the Nepal are no minnows here. The same team played in Germany and also in the AFC Challenger in Bangladesh where they beat India by three goals. I think we didn't play too bad against them," said the lanky striker.

He also felt that lack of match practice had resulted in poor coordination and the players have not settled into any rhythm yet.

"We practised in the artificial surface in Goa and we are now having some problem in adjusting to the ground here. But time is running out and we have to any how win the match against Bangladesh and I still hope we are good enough at least for the semifinals," added the youngster.