Injury blues for Indians ahead of SAF tournament

The absence of Dipak Mandal, adjudged India’s footballer of the year for 2002, has come as a big blow for the team, which is already without the services of Asian Games skipper Bhaichung Bhutia. The Sikkim star, nursing a calf muscle injury, was not considered for the camp.

Mahindra United stopper Debjit Ghosh has been named captain of the Indian football squad to play in SAF football tournament to be held in Dhaka from next week.

Meanwhile, the Indian squad today started practising at SAI complex for the SAF Games. Earlier, Debjit Ghosh talking to newspersons hoped India would retain the title, though it would be difficult this time.

Altogether eight teams would vie for the title. The teams had been divided into two groups. India would play in group A along with Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Pakistan and in group B Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan would fight each other.

List of 26 probables
Sandip Nandy, Arun Malhotra, M Suresh, S Venkatesh, Subhash Chakraborty, Alvito D’Cunha (all East Bengal), Basudeb Mandal, Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Renedy P Singh (all Mohun Bagan), Ashim Biswas (Tollygunge), Naseem Akhtar, Debjit Ghosh, Peter Siddique, Abhishek Yadav, RC Prakash (all Mahindra United), Virender Singh (Punjab Police), Sameer Naik (Dempo), Selwyn Fernandes, Abhay Kumar, Jules Alberto (all Vasco), Roberto Fernandes, Covan Lawrence, Lawrence Climax (all Aalgaocar), Jo Paul Anchery, IM Vijayan and Harvinder ingh (all JCT).