Finished last but U-20 team still basks in glory
NEWDELHI: India under-20 football coach Floyd Pinto might be feeling proud about India drawing with Venezuela and beating Argentina in the COTIF Cup in Spain, which ended on Wednesday, but he conveniently kept the more important detail — that of India finishing fifth and last in their group — under wraps.
As the team arrived in the early hours on Friday, Pinto, who is also the Indian Arrows coach, said, “Every Indian should feel proud of the win.” However, neither he nor the All India Football Federation (AIFF) deemed it worthy to inform the position of the team.
Reduced to 10 men, India defeated former U-20 world champions Argentina U-20 after losing 0-2 to Murcia and Mauritania 0-3. They were held to a goalless draw by Venezuela before they ended the tournament on a high.
Before taking on India, Argentina U-20 had already secured a semi-final spot and the result of the match had no bearing on their chances. They went on to beat Russia 2-1 in the final to lift the title.
Pinto said, “the boys were extremely organised and focused. We got the goals at the right moments and the result was there for everyone to see. Not to forget, we also held U-20 World Cup runners-up Venezuela to a goalless draw. The boys had put up a great performance against Venezuela and after that match, I said that they must raise the bar against Argentina.”
Now, the AIFF is set to send the India U-20 team to Croatia for a four-nation tournament.
JAYARAM, MITHUN IN VIETNAM OPEN SEMIS
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM: Ajay Jayaram and Mithun Manjunath put in the hard yards to progress to the men’s singles semi-finals with contrasting wins at the $75,000 Vietnam Open Super Tour 100 tournament here on Friday. Former world no 13 Jayaram, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from a hamstring injury, dished out a spirited performance to outwit Canada’s Sheng Xiaodong 26-24, 21-17 in a thrilling contest.
The 30-year-old Indian, who had reached the finals of 2015 Korea Super Series, will next face seventh seeded Japanese Yu Igarashi tomorrow.
In another match, young shuttler Mithun saw off China’s Zhou Zeqi 17-21, 21-19, 21-11 after a hard-fought battle that lasted 56 minutes. The 20-year-old, a semifinalist at the Russian Open, will square off against Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.
However, it was curtains for former national champion Rituparna Das as she lost 19-21, 14-21 to Thailand’s Phittayaporn Chaiwan in the quarterfinals.
Jayaram surged to a 5-0 lead early on but he blew the lead as Xiaodong reeled off seven straight points to grab the advantage.
AUSTRALIA TEST
Waugh however said Kohli’s competitive streak will be tested during his attempt to win the Test series in Australia later this year. “He’ll be putting a bit of pressure on himself, this (a series win in Australia) will be the feather in the cap if he can pull this off,” Waugh said.
“Steve Smith had an incredible series (in India last year) and made three centuries and scored about 500 runs, and Virat hardly scored a run. So that would have been deflating for him, and he will look to square the ledger when he comes back to Australia.”
But Waugh is confident that Australia have the ammunition to counter and negate Kohli, who had scored four centuries on the last tour Down Under four years ago. “Our attack is as good as anyone’s and, in our conditions, he’ll have to be on his game and particularly if he’s chasing some big scores that Australia have put on the board. That will put pressure on his batting,” said
Waugh.