Every player in the squad is given a fair chance – India goalkeeper Karanjit Singh

Goalkeeper Karanjit Singh has been part of every squad selection during Wim Koevermans’ tenure as India coach but didn’t start an official match until Friday’s international friendly against the Philippines in Siliguri which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Salgaocar custodian has had to be patient and wait for his opportunity but he doesn’t have any complaints and is relishing the competition within the national team.

“I have had to wait for some time to get a game but even when I have been out of the first eleven the coach has been very supportive. Every player in the squad is given a fair chance and the competition for places can only be a good thing for the team,” he said on Saturday after a recovery session.

Karanjit was in goal when India were beaten 2-0 by Philippines in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup. India produced a much better display on Friday with the 27-year-old also making a few important saves and he stated that the team performed much better than they did at SAFF 2013.

“I don’t know if it was one of my best performances. I always try to give more than 100 percent in every match. I feel we performed very well yesterday, especially in the first half. It was a much improved performance compared to our showings in the 2013 SAFF Championship,” Karanjit opined.

The only real disappointment from India’s performance yesterday was the fact that they conceded immediately after taking the lead. Karanjit believes such mistakes will only be avoided if they play regular international matches.

“We conceded very quickly after scoring so we have to work on that. Overall I feel we defended very well as a team and can only get better if we play together at this level regularly for a long period,” he concluded.