It’s not every day that good news comes from the usually bleak world of Indian football. But on Thursday, India’s U-16 team held Indonesia in the Asian U-16 Championships and booked a place in the quarterfinals ahead of established football powers like Iran. This is only the second time that an Indian team is managing this feat, after 2002. They are one win away from qualifying for the 2019 U-17 World Cup in Peru.
It would perhaps be unfair to compare the sides spread across two different eras, but the current batch’s achievement comes across as much more impressive. In 2002, India qualified almost by default—the third best side in a group where the fourth team was Myanmar. This time, though, they are second in the group only on goal difference and have out-qualified Iran, the runners-up in the previous edition which India hosted. The 0-0 draw against Iran offers a good indication of the progress Indian football has made.
In 2016, they had lost 0-3 to the same opposition. Rather astoundingly, this team also managed to get through the group stages without conceding a goal—no mean achievement at the continental level. The only other team to have a spotless defensive record is South Korea, the team India will face in the quarters. This is not the first time these boys are capturing headlines. In August, they stunned defending Asian champions Iraq.
The most vital aspect of the colts’ performance is that they have been able to exploit the heightened interest in youth football in the country following the hosting of the 2017 U-17 World Cup. The preparatory programme that these boys have undergone is even better thought out than what the World Cup bunch was put on and the All India Football Federation was able to procure significant funds from the sports ministry in this regard. The U-16 team went to Malaysia after having played in more than 10 countries including Spain, Serbia, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt. Their success will ensure that their successors get the same treatment.
