India land in Maldives for 2021 SAFF Championship

The Indian Men’s Senior National Team touched down in the Maldives on Monday for the upcoming SAFF Championship, which will commence from October 1 onwards.

The 23-member squad, along with support staff, traveled from Bengaluru. Meanwhile, head coach Igor Stimac has joined the squad directly in the Maldives. India begin their campaign against Bangladesh on October 4.

The first training session for the boys is scheduled to take place on September 29, 2021.

Head Coach Igor Stimac and captain Sunil Chhetri hailed the team's preparations and orgaizing committee's efforts:

Head Coach Igor Stimac expressed confidence and expects the team to win the tournament.

“The boys are excited and we expect them to do well and go all the way through winning the tournament. For some of them it is going to be a bit more difficult to shine as their clubs still haven’t started the pre-season yet. But we are very confident that each one of them will give their best,” asserted Head Coach Igor Stimac.

Captain Sunil Chhetri lauded the organizing committee for putting in an “extraordinary effort”.

“It feels great to be here. It’s truly an extraordinary effort that has been put in. Given the current situation it’s extremely difficult to organize matches and leave aside an entire tournament. I wish the entire organizing committee, the Maldives FA, and the Government of Maldives all the very best for the Championship. I understand it’s a humongous task, and I hope everyone stays safe for us to have a cracker of a tournament,” stated Sunil.

Midfielder Brandon Fernandes expressed that “there will be some tough matches in the next two weeks.”

“Since my childhood I have heard so many anecdotes about the SAFF Championship. Hence, it’s a different feeling for me to be in the squad for this edition. We understand that the next two weeks will be extremely tough and there will be some very close matches. The entire squad is up to the challenge,” he maintained.

The squad will abide by the COVID 19 protocols and will be inside the bio secured bubble all throughout the tournament.

India’s fixtures in the group stage:

October 4: Bangladesh vs India (IST 4.30 pm)

October 7: India vs Sri Lanka (IST 4.30 pm)

October 10: Nepal vs India (IST 8.30 pm)

October 13: India vs Maldives (IST 8.30 pm)

India SAFF Championship 2021 Squad:

Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh, Vishal Kaith, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Mandar Rao Dessai, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Seriton Fernandes.

Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Lalengmawia, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Jeakson Singh, Glan Martins, Suresh Singh, Liston Colaco, Yasir Mohammad.

Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary