By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Royal Wahingdoh FC and Ar-Hima FC would start their campaign for the preliminary round of the Second Division I-League on Wednesday.
Ar-Hima will take on Aizawl FC in their first match at Silchar, Assam while Wahingdoh would take on Samaleshwari SC at Cuttack, Odisha.
When contacted, Wahingdoh coach Carlton Chapman said that he was satisfied with the team’s preparation ahead of their first match of the tournament.
“The spirit among the boys is very high. I am confident that the team would play to its best potential,” Chapman told The Shillong Times from Cuttack.
He however raised concerns over the presence of a cricket pitch in the middle of the ground.
Meanwhile, Ar-Hima assistant coach Khlain Pyrkhat Syiemlieh expressed satisfaction with the way the team has shaped up for the tournament.
“We would try to give our best throughout the tournament,” Syiemlieh said from Silchar.
Considered among the premier clubs of Shillong, Ar-Hima had earlier announced its intentions about making it to the next level by signing Bhola Prasad from HAL, Mintu Saha from Mumbai FC and Japanese striker Taiki Matsumara (who had played with the New Zealand football club Boy’s Olympic) to strengthen the squad.
Meanwhile, the third local club in the league, Langsning FC would play its first match against Golden Threads FC in New Delhi on Thursday.
