Abu Dhabi: India enter the biggest ever Asian Cup, starting here Saturday, hoping to exorcise the ghosts of a disastrous outing in 2011 and using it as a stepping stone to realise the dream of making the 2026 World Cup.
The Asian Football Confederation’s continental showpiece, which has seen an increase in the number of finalists from 16 to 24, kicks off with hosts United Arab Emirates taking on Bahrain in a Group A fixture at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
India, placed in the same group as the host nation, will begin their campaign with a game against Thailand at the Al Nahyan Stadium, the home ground of Al Wahda club, on Sunday.
The Blue Tigers last participated in the tournament eight years ago, which ended with a forgettable group stage exit following heavy defeats at the hands regional powerhouses Australia, South Korea and Bahrain.
The 17th edition of the quadrennial event will be India’s fourth-ever appearance. While they brought to an end a 24-year wait by making the 2011 edition, India missed qualification to the 2015 tournament, which was won by hosts Australia.
Though not as dominant as the Koreans or the Australians, India will still have their task cut out against well-oiled teams such as Bahrain, Thailand and UAE. While speculation can be a futile exercise, an unbeaten run of 13 matches, during which the country qualified for the tournament and achieved its second best ranking in the FIFA chart, gives chief coach Stephen Constantine reasons to be optimistic.
India are currently ranked 97th, a far cry from the day a few years ago when they slipped to their worst-ever 173rd position. India also endured the humiliation of losing to Guam, a tiny Pacific island with a population of 1.5 lakh, in a World Cup Qualifier.
The revival began after that as India, under Constantine and the talismanic Sunil Chhetri’s prolific form in front of the goal, learned to win matches. (PTI)
