Ahead of India's quarterfinal clash against his side in the ongoing AFC U-16 Championship, South Korea head coach Kim Jung Soo credited the Indian side for being "deserving quarterfinalists".
In the official press conference, Kim said: "India deserve to be in the quarter-final stages and each team that has qualified for the quarter finals should be considered as favourites."
"Each and every team has prepared under the same circumstances, but the Indian team has done well for themselves in the group stages," he certified.
Soo heaped praise on the Indian defence line that has not conceded so far in the tournament, saying: "The Indian defence line does its job well and I give them credit for keeping three clean sheets in the three matches of the group stages."
The Indian defence has held out the likes of Iran and Indonesia thus far and is looking to prove them once more against Korea Republic, who have scored 12 goals in the competition, including a 7-0 mauling of Afghanistan in the group stages.
However, the Indian team will be without their central defender Bikash Yumnam, who will be missing the quarterfinal owing to a double booking.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)