On course for an Indian 145;entry146;

It8217;s probably the only way an Indian football team gets to 8216;participate8217; in a World Cup. This is, of course, not considering the possible early Indian venture when participation was by invitation only. With the big event at the door, soccer fanatics in cricket crazy India have been getting an opportunity to show off their skills at the 8216;Adidas Plus Challenge8217;, an initiative by the sports goods and apparel company that is sending emissaries to seven Indian cities for purpose.

The idea is to have seven teams of kids play qualifying matches before travelling to Kolkata, India8217;s soccer Mecca, to play the finals. The champion team get the opportunity to travel to Berlin a city on the World Cup map.

It was not clear, tough, if the children would be able to watch any match played in Berlin. The two-day Delhi leg kicked off on Saturday at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. There were 124 under-16 teams for the Delhi leg five-a-side teams and a novel, promotional format eased them through the elimination process.

The Delhi leg was won by Vikas Puri D team that defeated Mahindra United in the final.