Fit-again Bhutia raring to go in I-League

With the nagging hamstring injury sustained in the AFC Challenge Cup healed, a fit-again Baichung Bhuita is raring to go full throttle when his team Mohun Bagan opens its I-League campaign against minnows Mumbai FC.

With the nagging hamstring injury sustained in the AFC Challenge Cup healed, a fit-again Baichung Bhuita is raring to go full throttle when his team Mohun Bagan opens its I-League campaign against minnows Mumbai FC on Saturday.

HT Image

The triumph in the Kolkata Football League under new coach Karim Bencherifa is a step in the right direction and the Indian football captain, who will take charge of the green-and-maroon brigade in the I-League, says his side has a good chance to finish winners this time.

"I hope to start in our first match. I've recovered about 90 per cent. I seem to be in a okay condition and I believe the few days left will make me fully fit for our first encounter.

"A good start is very crucial. We are hoping for a good start so that it helps us carry the momentum into the meet. We have a very good blend of experienced and youngsters and with (Jose Ramirez) Barreto in fine form, we look for the best. We have a definite chance of winning the title," Bhutia told PTI in an interview today.

Mohun Bagan's five-day residential camp concluded here yesterday after the 38-member star studded line-up pulled out from their earlier-planned six days' itinerary in Steel City Jamshedpur.