Indian team for SAFF Cup

Margao, April 19: A colourful, yet simple ceremony, will mark the inauguration of the SAFF Coca Cola Cup football tournament at Nehru Stadium here on April 22. The inaugural ceremony will be followed by the opening match between India and Bangladesh at 1700 hours. The All-India Football Federation AIFF announced a 20-member Indian team. The team, training under Sukhwinder Singh, played a friendly match against National League champions Salgaocar yesterday and the coach was confident of the hosts retaining the cup. The Nehru Stadium, Margao will be hosting its third international tournament in 10 years. It was the venue for the 1989 Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup and for the 1996 pre-Olympic group matches.Tamil Nadu8217;s K Shankar and Michael Andrews Kerala are among the seven referees chosen by the Asian Football Confederation.

Team: Goalkeeper: Virender Singh, Prashanta Dora, Kalyan Choubey. Defenders: Pravjyot Singh, Robert Fernandes, Jo Paul Ancheri, Deepak Mandal, Daljit Singh and Reazul Mustafa.Midfielders: Ranjan Dey, Julius Alberto, Carlton Chapman, S Venkatesh, Rampal and Basudeb Mandal. Forwards: Bruno Coutinho, Baichung Bhutia, IM Vijayan, Hardip Gill and Sabir Pasha.