India U-14 boys finish campaign with draw in SAARC Tournament

The Indian Under-14 boys, comprising of All India Football Federation Regional Academy players, were held to a goalless draw by Bangladesh in their final match in the Under-14 SAARC Tournament being held in Shizuka, Japan earlier today.India dominated from the start and used both the flanks where Bedashwor Singh and Zonunmawia further frustrated the rival defence. Bedashwor came close to scoring in the 11th minute but his shot from inside the box narrowly missed the target.After the break the India Under-14 boys went all out into attack but Bangladesh survived as they adopted a defensive strategy, and the match ended goalless.India finished second on eight points, while the Japan Football Association Academy Team 1 topped the Group with 10 points, but such Football Festival style tournaments aren’t about results but rather international exposure.

India U-14 Head coach Sajid Dar lavished huge praise on the boys for their performance.

“The SAARC U-14 tournament has certainly boosted up the ongoing development process of our youth team and this is going to help them play better in the long run. The team improved with every match,” he said.

Former Indian international Gautam Ghosh, presently the assistant coach, lauded the boys for acclimatising fast to the alien weather conditions.

“The boys displayed exemplary commitment and adjusted to the conditions fast. It was a very good exposure trip for them,” he commented.