India ready for Malaysian challenge

The Indian national football team host Malaysia in the first of two international friendlies tomorrow at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Assam. It will be the first-ever match in Guwahati and maybe even the Northeast if my information is correct. The closest the national team has come to the football crazy Northeast is Siliguri, when the 1988 Nehru Cup was played there.

India had their first training session in the morning under the watchful eyes of newly appointed Head Coach Savio Medeira. The boys who arrived here last evening from their respective I-League clubs, look fresh and ready for the Malaysian challenge.

The visiting team who are currently ranked 151 in the FIFA World Ranking and 27th in Asia, go into the match with an edge against the 160th ranked Indians.

Nevertheless, Savio Medeira seemed unfazed by the higher ranking of their rivals. "We are confident and unperturbed by Malaysia's ranking. We are a young and developing team with a lot of confidence. We have quality players in Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sunil Chhetri, Jewel Raja and many more who can take on any team on any given day," he said.

"We got to have belief in ourselves," Savio added and this is something he will have learned from former coach Bob Houghton while working under him.

"Malaysia are a capable side. The exuberance of youth stands out. This match will surely be a very good challenge for us," Savio maintained. "They have been playing very well in the recent past under Coach Datuk K. Rajagopal. We need to be careful."

India star striker Sunil Chhetri supported his Coach. "Malaysia are a very nippy side. We had played against them in the Afro-Asian games in Hyderabad where we drew with them. We can't be complacent,” Chhetri said.

The Kick-off is slated for 17:45 IST. The Governor of Assam Janaki Ballabh Patnaik and the Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi would be the Guest of Honour.