India eye strong start

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The finalists of the last two editions, India and Syria, will square up in the opening match of the Nehru Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday.

The home side, who got better of their higher ranked opponents in both those finals, will look to correct the unfavourable record against the same team in at the preliminary stages, having also lost twice.
However, that is easier said than done against a team which India skipper Sunil Chhetri reckons as the ‘most improved side’ in recent times. India, who hit their lowest level in the rankings recently going down to 168, will eye a hat-trick of titles to act as a salve to the slide.
Under new coach Wim Koevermans, India are attempting a fresh start with some big names missing from the last edition’s line-up, the most striking being former Indian skipper Baichung Bhutia. Chhetri will have to don the role of the goal poacher which Bhutia did, quite successfully, during his career.
Without Bhutia, Climax Lawrence, Mahesh Gawli and Renedy Singh — all having hung up their boots — the Indian team look short on experience. But this is where the likes of Gouramangi Singh, Syed Rahim Nabi, Clifford Miranda and Mehtab Hossain will have to step in and guide the youngsters.
The other change that coach Koevermans has brought about is the style of play. The Dutchman, for whom this will be a first major assignment with the Indian team, has focused on possession football during the three weeks of training, first in Bengaluru and now in Greater Noida.
“The emphasis from Day One has been to control the ball and keep it on the ground. If you lose possession, you need to win it back quickly. You see the style all over the world. And it suits our players who are not tall as others,” Koevermans said at the pre match press conference on Tuesday.
Koevermans sounded upbeat with the training and the practice games ahead of the start but was quick to point out that facing Syria would be another level all together.
Syria, on the other hand, are the second-highest ranked team (147) in the competition behind Cameroon (59) and the two are the biggest threats to India defending the title.
The Maldives and Nepal are the other teams in the competition. The five team tournament, which was held at the Ambedkar Stadium for the last two editions, has shifted base to the much-larger Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium this time.