AFC Cup contest a dress rehearsal for Fed Cup title clash
BAGAN ARE ALREADY OUT OF AFC CUP WHILE BENGALURU AS GROUP E TOPPERS HAVE ALREADY QUALIFIED FOR THE NEXT STAGE
In what will be precursor to the high-octane Federation Cup final, Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC will have an ideal ‘dress rehearsal’ when they square off in an inconsequential AFC Cup group league encounter on Wednesday. Bagan are already out of AFC Cup while Bengaluru as Group E toppers have already qualified for the next stage.
However the crazy scheduling of Federation Cup meant that the final is being played a week after the semifinals with the second tier continental championship sandwiched in between. On nine points from four matches to lead the table, Bengaluru will look to log full points to secure their passage to knock-out stage.
The SAFF Championship football tournament is in hot water after India, one of the participants, requested the competition’s organisers to postpone the meet by a few months due to the Indian Super League.
The 12th edition of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) meet — played among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — is scheduled to take place in Bangladesh this year from December 25.
But after India put in a request for postponement, stating their unavailability during the period, the organisers are mulling pushing the meet to May. “India is saying that because of the U-17 World Cup, the ISL is starting late. So the ISL will end late and not in December,” SAFF general secretary Anwarul Huq said.
India colts will lock horns with Italy on Friday, in what will be another tough test, as a part of its preparation for the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The match will be held in Arezzo. Luis Norton de Matos’ side lost 1-2 to Sporting Lisbon in the last match of its exposure trip to Europe on May 10.
Sporting Lisbon created a few chances towards the end ofthe game but the Indian defenders saw off the danger to keep the scoreline unchanged.
Before that, the India team went down 0-3 to Portuguese club SL Benfica in a friendly match in Lisbon. The Indians had claimed a 2-2 draw against the same club on April 27. “.
Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna put up a spirited show to share the spoils with Russian GM Ernesto Inarkeiv in the fourth round of the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix played here on Tuesday.
The World No 16 Indian, playing with black pieces, started off on a strong note to dominate the initial stages of the game.
“I surprised him with Benoni, a Fianchetto variation and after that move he was just trying to save the game,” Harikrishna said after the match.
However, Harikrisha could not capitalise and Ernesto dug deep and clung on to draw the game that lasted for 47 moves.
Indian women’s hockey team suffered an embarrassing 2-8 defeat against hosts New Zealand in the second of the five-match series here on Tuesday. Experienced striker Stacey Michelsen (21st, 30th, 42nd)struck thrice, while Samantha Harrison (3rd), Kirsten Pearce (52nd), Madison Doar (56th), Samantha Harrison (56th) and Stephanie Dickins (60th) also sounded the board.
For India, Lilima Minz (40th minute) and Anupa Barla (49th) were the goal-scorers. India began with positive intent but New Zealand put India on the backfoot with an early 1-0 lead when Samantha Harrison scored a 3rd minute field goal.