Potentially adverse conditions a good opportunity for Blue Tigers, says Sunil Chhetri
Soumo Ghosh AIFF Media Team KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The Blue Tigers are eager to utilise the unique opportunity of playing in an 87,000-seater arena as an away team, as they gear up for their match against Malaysia in the Pestabola Merdeka 2023. India, who are placed 102 in the FIFA Rankings, will take on hosts Malaysia, ranked 134, on Friday, October 13, 2023, at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, at 6.30 pm IST. Chhetri, who joined the national team on Tuesday night, said, “It feels good to be back in the national team after winning the Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship. It will be different here, we are playing away from home, and we’ve heard of the hostile reception we could get on matchday. “But it’s not common for us to get to play such matches away from home, and this will be a very good opportunity for us to better our away record. It’s a good test, and we are all looking forward to it,” he said. The 39-year-old mercurial striker is aware of the history and weight that the name Merdeka carries, but is solely focused on the road ahead. “I know our past teams have done well in the Merdeka, and the more recent ones have not done as well. It’s an extremely important tournament for Malaysia, but we are only thinking about our first game right now. We need to focus on it and win the game, before thinking about other things,” he said. Malaysia is well known for its Indian diaspora, with around two million persons of Indian origin residing in the country. Chhetri hopes that out of the packed 87,000 fans at the Bukit Jalil, a sizeable number would be rooting for the Blue Tigers. “I’ve heard it would be a jam-packed stadium when we play, but I hope a few Indian fans are also there. Being Indians, we tend to get fans wherever we travel, so I hope all the Indian fans, whoever can afford the tickets, can make it to support us against Malaysia,” said Chhetri. The Blue Tigers travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday, October 9, 2023, with a squad of 21 players, while defender Sandesh Jhingan and striker and captain Sunil Chhetri joined the team on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Earlier in the day, the Blue Tigers squad of 23 for the Merdeka Tournament was announced by the All India Football Federation. “We have a squad of 23 here in Malaysia, but four of our players – Anwar Ali, Subhasish Bose, Manvir Singh, and Brandon Fernandes – are carrying injuries from their club engagements,” said head coach Igor Stimac. India's match against Malaysia will be telecast live on Eurosport and streamed live on the Indian Football YouTube Channel. __________________________________________________________________ India go down to Palestine in a futsal cliff-hanger India 5 (David Laltlansanga, 6’, 16’, Nikhil Mali, 14’, 16’, K Roluahpuia, 28’) lost to Palestine 6 (Mousa Harara, 3’, Zaher Alsamahi, 6’, Ahmed Mohammed, 20’, 34’, Ahmad Massriea, 23’) AIFF Media Team DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN: India’s hope of notching up their first win in an international futsal match got dashed when they went down to Palestine 5-6 in the third and final group league AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2024 Qualifiers encounter at the Dushanbe Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. Playing in an international futsal tournament for the first time, India ended their campaign by losing all three matches in the group but raised enough hopes of coming back stronger in the near future. In the four-team group, India finished last, while Palestine grabbed the third spot on the basis of their win over India. Hosts Tajikistan and Myanmar are the two teams who qualified for the next phase. After a seesaw battle that saw the lead changing hands more than once, Palestine had the last laugh when they scored the winning goal through Imad Fahjan two minutes before the final whistle. India, who conceded two goals within five minutes of the start of the tie, struck back in grand fashion and led 4-3 after the 20-minute first half ended. However, India failed to sustain the momentum in the second session and allowed the rivals to penetrate their defence time and again resulting in Palestine finding the net three times in this period. India scored five goals and a few of them prompted the spectators to often cheer for the side, who ultimately ended up losing side. After Mousa Harara and Zaher Alsamahi put Palestine 2-0 up, David Laltlansanga reduced the margin with an accurate volley. In the 14th minute, Nikhil Mali looked cool as cucumbers when he tapped in a Sandeep Oraw to make it 2-2. It was the period when India were at their best. David Laltlansanga and Nikhil Mali scored two more to give India a 4-2 lead. The euphoria, however, didn’t last long as Palestine took charge to reduce the margin before the breather and then had it all the way in the final 20 minutes. India starting V: Augustin Savio D’mello, George MS Dawngliana, Lalsangkima, David Laltlansanga, Bijoy Gosai. Subs: Sayantan Chowdhury, Scott Moraes, Sachin Patil, Jayesh Sutar, Nikhil Rajendra Mali, Abhay Gurung, Bijoy Gosai, Sandeep Oraw, Sandesh Nivrutti Malpote, K Roluahpuia. -- ............................. https://www.the-aiff.com <https://www.the-aiff.com> https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam <https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam> https://www.twitter.com/IndianFootball <https://www.twitter.com/IndianFootball> https://www.instagram.com/indianfootball <https://www.instagram.com/indianfootball> https://www.youtube.com/IndianFootball <https://www.youtube.com/IndianFootball> ............................. *Confidentiality:* This communication and any attachments hereto are intended only for the intended recipient(s) and are confidential and privileged, unless stated otherwise. 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