Marcus Mergulhao I TNN
Malsawmfela’s participation in the Tashkent meet is in doubt
Margao: It’s the end of their best preparation yet, but there's one lonely figure on the sidelines.
With an icepack on his ankle and a thoroughly disappointed look on his face, Malsawmfela is completely out of place at the national under-16 team’s training camp in Cuncolim.
The India junior has caught everyone’s attention with his international exploits — the brace against Manchester United that helped India draw 3-3 being the most outstanding. So, it is not without reason that the 15-year-old is touted as the next best thing to have happened to Indian football.
As the India team left for Tashkent on Wednesday to play the final round of the Asian football championships, Malsawmfela’s availability remained a big concern.
The Manipur wonder boy suffered a knock in training on Friday and has not trained since, limping out of the friendly against India Schools.
“Malsawmfela is a bright young player and we are concerned about the injury. He needs to be on the field and not watching from the sidelines,” chief coach Colin Toal told the Times of India.
Toal is resigned to losing his best player in the team for the all-important final round of qualifiers in Tashkent, but is quick to add that his absence will not hold them back.
“We have players who can fill the void,” said Toal.
The form of first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has also raised a few eyebrows.
On Monday Sandhu fumbled with a regulation collection that allowed the reserves to score the only goal in a 20-minute match.
Toal, normally full of praise for his players from start to finish, remained mum and there are indications Jayanta Paul could be promoted to the first-choice goalkeeping slot.
Elsewhere, there is little to worry.
Lalrindika is in the form of his life, scoring goals and sidestepping defenders by the dozen while Milan Singh has recovered from a knee surgery that kept him out of the United States and Euro tour.
The consistency and form of the India under-16 side for close to 15 months now has left Indian football fans with plenty to dream.
The team has lost just one game — against Everton — since upsetting the likes of Iraq, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia in the qualifiers.
In Tashkent, India will open their campaign on October 4 against South Korea with Syria (October 6) and Indonesia (Oct 8) being the other teams in group B.
The top two teams in the group will qualify for the quarterfinals starting on October 12. The top three teams will book a place in the under-17 World Cup in Nigeria next year.
The World Cup dream is alive and kicking.
