Soumo Ghosh

AIFF Media Team

KATHMANDU, NEPAL: Two days remain before India’s SAFF U20 Championship campaign gets underway, and having the tag of defending champions seems to provide extra motivation to the boys ahead of the tournament.

India landed in Kathmandu late on Friday, August 16, and head coach Ranjan Chaudhuri, along with head of delegation K.I. Nizamuddin proceeded the next morning by announcing to the lads that Ricky Meetei Haobam and Ebindas Yesudas would be given the role of captain and vice-captain, respectively.

Chaudhuri said at the official pre-tournament press conference: “We have been preparing for the last two months, and everyone is eager for the tournament to start. How we do in our first match will be very important as that could set the tone for the other matches to follow.”

India are the defending champions of the SAFF U20 Championship, which they won in Bhubaneswar two years ago, a fact that the Blue Colts are looking to use as their inspiration.

“We are the defending champions, so that obviously gives us an added motivation. There’s a certain set of expectations that come with the defending champions tag, and we are looking forward to the challenges that come with that,” said Chaudhuri.

Captain Ricky Meetei also echoed the coach’s words: “We were the champions the last time in Bhubaneswar, and everyone is expecting us to do well again in this tournament too. We are fully focused on winning it.”

India, placed in Group B, will begin their campaign on Monday, August 19, 2024, against Bhutan (kick-off at 2.45 pm IST), followed by their second and final group stage game on Friday, August 23, 2024 against the Maldives (kick-off at 2.45 pm IST).

Following the SAFF U20 Championship the Blue Colts will travel to Laos to participate in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers, where they will face Mongolia (September 25), IR Iran (September 27), and Laos (September 29).

Quizzed about his plans for the Asian qualifiers, Chaudhuri said, “Of course, we have the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the back of our minds. We’ve made every preparation for it. But right now, our target is on the SAFF championship. Once that is over, we will again look ahead to Asia.”