India will seek to leave behind recent setbacks when they kick off their AFC Challenge Cup campaign against Afghanistan here on Wednesday.After the Nehru Cup win last August, India struggled in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and to Maldives in the SAFF Cup final last month in Colombo. A win in the eight-nation tournament here will see them qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup for the first time the since 1984, when India made it to the finals of the elite competition.India are the second highest-ranked side at 153rd, after North Korea who are 94th in latest FIFA charts. Group A opponents and defending champions Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are at 154th and 158th. Besides North Korea, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal are the other three teams in Group B.India had a satisfying 12-day training-cum-exposure tour of Portugal before playing a 2-2 draw with Malaysia in a friendly here on July 22. A win in the tournament will also be important for coach Bob Houghton. The former Fulham midfielder said he would want some results before thinking about an extention of contract that expires in May next year. A spate of injuries have not made his task easy, though. Key defender NS Manju has been ruled out of the tournament due to hamstring injury while top players Steven Dias and Mahesh Gawli are doubtful for the match. However, skipper Bhaichung Bhutia has been in fine form and his recent date with top international stars in a charity match must have done a world of good to his confidence. Squads: India: Bhaichung Bhutia, Subrata Paul, Subhashish Roy Chowdhary, Govin Moirangthem, Surkumar Singh, Mahesh Gawli, Gouramangi Singh, Deepak Mondal, Anwar Ali, Syed Rahim Nabi, Sameer Naik, Baldeep Singh (Jr), Steven Dias, Climax Lawrence, N P Pradeep, Clifford Miranda, Bungo Singh, Ajayan Krishanan Nair, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Renedy Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Abhishek Yadav, Sushil Singh.Afghanistan: Abdul Saboor Aser, Ali Ahmad Yarzada, Ata Yamrali, Bashir Ahmad Saadat, Djelaluddin Shrityar, Emal Gariwal, Faisal Sakhi Zada, Hadid Mustafa, Hafizullah Qadami, Hamidullah Rastagar, Harez Arian Habib, Israfeel Kohistani, Salem Nahemi, Maqadar Qazizadah, Masood Hashemi, Mohd. Ibrahim Jebran, Obaidullah Karimi, Qudratullah Hussaini, Sayed Bashir Azimi, Shamsuddin Amiri, Yusuf Barak, Zohib Islam.
