India’s U20 Football Team Prepares for SAFF Championship in Nepal
India’s Under 20 football team, led by head coach Ranjan Chaudhuri and head of delegation K.I. Nizamuddin, has named Ricky Meetei Haobam as captain and Ebindas Yesudas as vice-captain for the SAFF U20 Championship in Kathmandu. The team, defending champions, aims to start strong in their first match against Bhutan on August 19.
Coach Chaudhuri expressed confidence in the team’s preparation, stating, “We have been preparing for the last two months, and everyone is eager for the tournament to start. How we do in our first match will be very important as that could set the tone for the other matches to follow.”
Captain Ricky Meetei echoed the coach’s sentiments, saying, “We were the champions the last time in Bhubaneswar, and everyone is expecting us to do well again in this tournament too. We are fully focused on winning it.”
India, placed in Group B, will begin their campaign on Monday, August 19 against Bhutan, followed by their second and final group stage game on Friday, August 23 against the Maldives.
Following the SAFF U20 Championship, the Blue Colts will travel to Laos to participate in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers, where they will face Mongolia on September 25, IR Iran on September 27, and Laos on September 29.
Coach Chaudhuri mentioned, “Of course, we have the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the back of our minds. We’ve made every preparation for it. But right now, our target is on the SAFF championship. Once that is over, we will again look ahead to Asia.”
Doubts Revealed
U20 -: U20 means ‘Under 20’. It refers to players who are under 20 years old.
SAFF Championship -: SAFF stands for South Asian Football Federation. It’s a football tournament for South Asian countries.
Nepal -: Nepal is a country in South Asia, located next to India. Kathmandu is its capital city.
Ranjan Chaudhuri -: Ranjan Chaudhuri is the head coach of India’s Under 20 football team. A coach helps players train and play better.
K.I. Nizamuddin -: K.I. Nizamuddin is the head of delegation. He manages the team and makes sure everything runs smoothly.
Ricky Meetei Haobam -: Ricky Meetei Haobam is the captain of the team. A captain leads the team on the field.
Ebindas Yesudas -: Ebindas Yesudas is the vice-captain. He helps the captain and can lead if the captain is not playing.
Bhutan -: Bhutan is a small country near India. The Indian team will play their first match against Bhutan.
AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers -: AFC stands for Asian Football Confederation. The qualifiers are matches to decide which teams will play in the main tournament.
Laos -: Laos is a country in Southeast Asia. The Indian team will go there for the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers.