'We can qualify for the U-20 World Cup'

BENGALURU: Indian Under-17 World Cup players Sanjeev Stalin and Hendry Antonay made a quiet return to their homes here on Thursday night. There was no grand welcome at the Kempegowda International airport and over the last three days, neither the sports minister nor the Karnataka State Football Association officials bothered to call and congratulate the duo.On Sunday, however, Bengaluru's football fans made amends, felicitating Sanjeev and Hendry in Gowthamapura and Murphy Town but still there was no invite or a telephone call from the state government or the association.The indifference shown towards Sanjeev and Hendry was in stark contrast to the heroic welcome their Indian teammates received when they returned to their respective states such as Manipur and Kerala. "No one has called the two so far. But we expected this as we have never got any encouragement from our home state. There is no use of playing football in Karnataka," one of the players close to Hendry told TOI on Sunday."It was completely different in Kerala and Manipur as the players were feted by one and all. Here, Sanjeev and Hendry are still unknown. No one knows them or cares for them," the player added.Meanwhile, Sanjeev's father Stalin said the KSFA and the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) may not have held any felicitation function as the players were on a short trip. "Nobody has visited us from the association. Also, we are yet to be told of any function being planned by them. They may hold some programme on Monday as the players have to return to Delhi soon," Stalin said.Sanjeev and Hendry, however, were not ready to show their disappointment as they pointed to the positives that came out of the World Cup. "Each match was a new experience but I think our best game was against Colombia thanks to our fans. Because of them we gave our best but due to our bad luck we lost. I would say the toughest match was against Ghana," Sanjeev said."We faced some of the best teams in the world and it was a big learning curve for each one of us. Each day was a new learning and we never lost. Now, we won't be overawed when we play in another World Cup. All the players have done the hard work and I'm confident that we can qualify for the next (U-20) World Cup. Why can't we qualify? We have the quality but we need to work hard," the promising defender said before leaving for the felicitation programme organized by his friends and neighbours in Murphy Town.Meanwhile, KSFA officials said they are planning to felicitate the boys at a later date. "We were not aware of their return. But we will honour them soon. Our president is a bit busy but we will soon take up this matter with him," a top KSFA official said. Another official felt the boys should instead visit the KSFA office and not the other way. "Why should we visit their house? They left without telling us. So, if they have returned they should come and meet us," he said.