Khao Yai [Thailand], June 11 (ANI): Deep within the area of Kao Yai, simply beside the third largest National Park in Thailand, the India U-17 Men’s National Team toil away each day, as they put together for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup. It is inside this semi-forest area of no distractions that goals aren’t solely being made, but additionally being nurtured and inspired.
Every room belonging to any member of the India U-17 nationwide group has a be aware pasted on the wall, that leaves a easy message for everybody: “Qualify for the World Cup”. For holding midfielder Gurnaj Singh Grewal, it’s small gestures like these that make the group so particular.
“The atmosphere within this team is really good. Everyone has a positive mindset, and we are all collectively confident that we can make it to the (FIFA U-17) World Cup,” says Gurnaj to the-aiff.com.
“Our staff officials all take good care of us and make sure that we are all in a good mindset ahead of the Asian Cup.”India has been drawn in Group D of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, the place they are going to face the likes of Vietnam (June 17), Uzbekistan (June 20), and Japan (June 23). The prime two groups from every group will make it by to the quarter-finals, and guaranteeing a seat within the semi-finals would additionally imply qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is about to happen later this yr.
Hailing from Chandigarh, Gurnaj is among the fortunate children, who’ve had the backing of their household of their endeavour to develop into an expert footballer. While many households in India encourage their youngsters to pay extra consideration to research fairly than to sports activities, Gurnaj’s dad and mom went the opposite manner.
“My father always wanted to be a footballer, but could never play at the professional level. He has passed that dream onto me, and I very much intend to fulfil it,” Gurnaj stated to the-aiff.com.
Apart from being an inspiration, Gurnaj’s father has additionally performed a giant function in getting him kick-started within the lovely sport.
“My father was my first coach, so I learned a lot about technique from him, before I joined the CFA (Chandigarh Football Academy),” stated Gurnaj.
The younger holding medio quickly confirmed his mettle and was known as as much as the India U-17 group final yr, happening to play a key function because the group lifted the SAFF U-17 Championship and secured qualification for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
“The camps we had in Spain and Germany were an eye-opener for most of us. We had not really seen much of the world before that, but the level of football, coaching, and attention to detail, especially off the pitch, were something completely new to us,” he stated.
“We were given detailed classes by the coaches in Spain and Germany about rest and diet, which really helped us understand that aspect of the game.””Of course, we also got to play against the junior teams of some big clubs like Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, VfB Stuttgart and FC Augsburg. I have seen these teams on TV as a kid, but never imagined that I could play against them someday. That really motivated all the players,” stated Gurnaj.
“I can say with guarantee that after playing such teams, our players are very confident on the pitch, and absolutely focussed outside it. We all want to qualify for the World Cup,” he concluded. (ANI)