ANI
26 May 2021, 22:57 GMT+10
New Delhi [India], May 26 (ANI): All India Football Federation President Praful Patel on Wednesday met senior members of the Indian senior national team via video-conferencing to get a feel of their preparations in Doha ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers, slated to be played from June 3 onwards.
The AIFF President encouraged the players to stay fit and wished them good luck. "More power to all of you. I wish all of you good health and strength. We are extremely proud of you," Patel said, as reported by official website of AIFF.
"We spoke to the Qatar government and we were lucky that they didn't insist on the 10-day quarantine, and that has allowed the squad to assemble in Doha and begin our training sessions," he added.
Speaking about the upcoming matches, Patel said: "This has been a terrible time. We have not had any normalcy as such. The format of the leagues was also different - all played from inside the bubble. I understand and appreciate the concern of Igor and the entire team arising out of the difficult circumstances."Head coach Igor Stimac thanked the President for helping the squad arrive early in Doha. "We are thankful to you President and all in the AIFF for providing us the opportunity to come earlier, and also taking our cause with the Government of Qatar and arranging for us to train even during quarantine.""The expectations are high but realistically the situation hasn't been ideal," he added.
India are scheduled to play Asian Champions Qatar on June 3, Bangladesh on June 7, and Afghanistan on June 15 with all three matches to be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha.
The players in unison also expressed their gratitude to Patel for his endeavour in helping the squad, and expressed their commitment, despite "the preparation not being an ideal one owing to the current circumstances.""We are making the most of the circumstances," talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri maintained, only to be complemented by Sandesh who quipped: "The confidence in the squad is high. We have done it earlier and there's no reason why we can do it again. We have grown as a team and we need to take it forward together."Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said: "We understand that the preparations have not been ideal but we are confident in our abilities as a team. We are not scared, and moving into the qualifiers, that's important." (ANI)Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationMOSCOW, Russia: Russia's principal security agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), has accused British intelligence of using the...
SYDNEY, Australia: Australia will not ease its strict biosecurity rules during trade talks with the United States, Prime Minister Anthony...
The Israeli Navy has intercepted a ship carrying humanitarian aid and a number of activists including Greta Thunberg, Rima Hassan,...
TOKYO, Japan: Japan's demographic challenges intensified in 2024, with the number of births falling to another all-time low—underscoring...
BEIJING, China: A little-known office inside China's Ministry of Commerce has become a powerful chokepoint in the global auto and tech...
OMAHA BEACH, France: Eighty-one years after the D-Day landings, a small group of World War II veterans has returned to the beaches...
OMAHA BEACH, France: Eighty-one years after the D-Day landings, a small group of World War II veterans has returned to the beaches...
THE HAGUE - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has strongly condemned the United States for imposing sanctions on four of its judges,...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Spring 2025 was the warmest and sunniest spring in Ireland since records began, according to Met Éireann. It had the...
DUBLIN, Ireland: A tourist tore out and ate the page of his passport containing his biometric data after attacking an immigration officer...
BERLIN, Germany: Germany has taken its first significant fiscal step to jumpstart its slowing economy. This week, the cabinet approved...
WASHINGTON, D.C. Forget bucket lists; this summer, it's all about budget lists. Amid economic uncertainty and a weaker dollar, Americans...