Ashim Sunam By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: What would qualify as a success for India in the AFC Asian Cup 2019? Featuring in the quadrennial competition, which is two months away, is a victory in itself for a nation who has only played in the tournament only three times before — 1964, 1984 and 2011. But with the present bunch of India players having achieved some good international results in the recent past, they will hope to do better than their last outing in 2011, where they lost all their matches.

India (ranked 97) are pooled alongside United Arab Emirates (77), Thailand (122) and Bahrain (112) in a tough group. The two latter teams, despite their rankings, are a quality side. In a competition like the Asian Cup, there is no room for negativity and India will look to head into the event in a confident frame of mind.

There are reasons for optimism. The AIFF have lined up friendlies against competitive sides in the build-up to the tourney with India set to face Jordan for the first time in their history in November. India also beat Kenya in the final to clinch the 2018 Intercontinental Cup, which also included New Zealand and Chinese Taipei. They also managed to hold a much-fancied China to a goalless draw away from home. However, these results need to be taken with a pinch of salt as most of their opponents played with their second-string side.

India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was one of the shining lights against China, denying the home team a chance to find the back of the net. The goalkeeper aims to improve his game even more with the Bengaluru FC shot-stopper expected to be kept busy in the UAE come January.

“To get a clean sheet away in China was very special. I look back at that game, and there are things that I can still improve upon and I want to. Just take that on a positive note and want to ensure that I am well prepared for the Asian Cup,” said Gurpreet during a Red Bull event in the city on Wednesday.

When asked if China’s game has given the team the confidence to believe that they can make it past the group stages, Gurpreet said, “It is good to believe that, but we should not think about things before they happen, just take it one game at a time. When we go to the Asian Cup and if we manage to get a good result in the first game, we should make sure that we keep our heads down and go to the next game with the same kind of attitude. If we are already thinking about us going past the group stages, it is not going to help us. It is better to think about the present, rather than the future.”

No issues in locker room

There have been rumours about senior players not being happy with coach Stephen Constantine. Gurpreet dismissed the same. “Everything is fine and we have been getting results. That is the biggest example we can give you. We just want to concentrate on the job at hand...”

ashim.sunam@newindianexpress.com