Indian football team gears up for Myanmar tie
Days after winning their first-ever away international friendly since June 2005 against Cambodia in Phnom Penh, the India senior football team landed in Yangon Saturday for what coach Stephen Constantine described as a “bigger challenge”. Constantine said it was nice to be training in Phnom Penh for two days after the friendly. “Weather conditions in Phnom Penh are almost similar to that of Yangon. The sessions were helpful .”
Referring to the Asian Cup qualifier against Myanmar, Constantine said, “The match against Cambodia was necessary to gauge a lot of things. But Myanmar will be a much bigger challenge. We are aware of their strength. Their recent performances show how difficult a team they are to play against.”
Bengal lifted the Santosh Trophy for the 32nd time after Manvir Singh struck in the 119th minute for a 1-0 win over Goa, extending their domination in the national football championship. Manvir came good in the dying moments of extra time.
The Indian women’s team drew with Chile 2-2 in a closely-fought first match here on a cold evening ahead of the all-important Women’s Hockey World League Round 2. It was Chile who got off to a positive start with an 18th minute field goal by Agustina Venegas to take a 1-0 lead. It didn’t help India’s cause when Renuka Yadav was handed a green card only a minute before Chile converted the goal. But India held their nerves to score an equalizer in the 35th minute. Anupa Barla was responsible for the team’s first goal through a penalty corner.