PANJIM, NOV 10
Beaten in last two matches, but still raring to go, this is the best way to describe Sukhvinder Singh boys, who will be locking horns with Singapore in their last Asian Games group league encounter at Haudu Stadium, Guangzhou on Thursday.
Though, the qualification in the round of 16 of 16th Asian Games looks blurred after suffering two straight defeats, a win against Singapore will surely put the Indian side into a much respectable position.
Nevertheless, India still hold a slim chance as three points will keep them in contention to qualify as one of the four best third placed teams.
Unfortunate in the last game against defending champions, Qatar, India after leading till 80th minute, went on to concede two late goals and deprived themselves from a famous win. The Indians gave a better account of themselves in both matches and have won many hearts.
A 2-0 defeat at the hands of Kuwait also saw, India loing their grip on the match in the dying minutes, which remains a concern for Sukhvinder Singh.
“The team spirit is very high and even after playing two matches in such a short span of time, the boys are looking forward to tomorrow’s game,” said Sukhvinder.
“We will miss the services of Laxmikant Kattimani due to injury, while Robert will not feature in tomorrow’s match due to double booking,’’ added Sukhvinder Singh.
“We don’t have any knowledge about our opponents, but they are in a better position than us as they have one point after splitting points with Qatar before going down to Kuwait 2-0. Singapore are equally a good side and it will be another good match for us,” said the coach.
Lalrozama Fanai is likely to replace Robert in the defence, while Gurpreet Singh Sandhu will get his first start in the absence of Laxmikant Kattimani.
“In the last two matches, the boys showed a great character and took their performance to the next level.
