Lotus Valley senior team banks on clinical finishing at HT GIFA

All eyes will be on the Lotus Valley senior football team as they prepare to make their debut in the Hindustan Times Great Indian Football Action (HT GIFA), with a bagful of expectations from their school.

All eyes will be on the Lotus Valley senior football team as they prepare to make their debut in the Hindustan Times Great Indian Football Action (HT GIFA), with a bagful of expectations from their school.

The team, which has nine players, has been practising hard for the tournament for the last three months. The players are confident of their strategy to go farther in the tournament. (Burhaan Kinu/HT)

The team, which comprises of 6 girls and 3 boys, will be representing Lotus Valley International School, Noida at HT GIFA, the ultimate football league for Delhi-NCR, which has become a calendar event for football lovers and residents.

Lotus Valley senior team comprises of 9 students from class 10, who have been practising for the last 3 months with an aim to do well at the tournament. They are coached and managed by Anuj Pratap Singh, a football veteran.

Singh has played many state level tournaments and had also captained the Madhya Pradesh state football team at one point. He has now taken to grooming young talents, who are passionate, with a hope to find a prodigy.

Explaining the reason for his conviction and confidence on the Lotus Valley senior team, he said, “They are a talented bunch of players who know their game. I am hopeful that we will be able to give our best in the tournament.”

However, Singh believes that the team can improve and asked his players to put in more effort to master finessing the ball while finishing off a team move.

“I believe one of the areas where we lack is the ability to turn chances into goals. To learn finishing is important and I hope that we will be able to convert many chances into goals,” Singh said.

Raunak Anand, a team member, says that the team needs to focus on its passing skills in order to have a long run in the tournament.

“We need to focus more on how we pass the ball. With good training and preparation, I am hopeful that we will be able to make a strong statement,” Anand said.

The team’s captain, Mehr Anand, a fan of Real Madrid football club, is hopeful that her team will give others a run for their money at the tournament. She said, “We have been practising hard for this tournament and hope that we can give our best.”

The team comprises of Mehr Anand, Aashita Auyal, Muskaan Bawa, Navya Goyal, Friyan Bajan, Sameeksha Khanna, Raunak Anand, Krish Rana and Arnav Arora.