Indian footballers are gearing up to lock horns with Nepal at the 12th South Asian Games here tomorrow, as the country's men and women teams face their counterparts from the Himalayan nation in their respective finals.
The India U-23 team registered a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Bangladesh to breeze into the final of men's football yesterday.
Nepal will be a different ball game altogether, though.
"Nepal are a very fit side. They had an inspirational victory against Maldives and will come hard at us. The win will keep them motivated. Such sides are always very dangerous," head coach Lee Johnson said.
There are three U-19 players in the India squad, more players from 2nd Division, and even more who are not regular starters in their respective I-League clubs.
"Most of the players are fit but not match fit. International football is played at a much higher intensity. With such a squad is it a miracle that India are in the final. It was very challenging. Players came at different times. They had their I-League fixtures and we didn't have the full squad at our disposal till two days before the first game," Johnson said.
In the semifinal, after Udanta Singh put India into the lead in the 22nd minute, Mawihmingthanga followed it up with a fantastic strike from outside the box five minutes before the interval.
Changing over, Jayesh Rane sealed the fate in the 65th minute, which also saw Bangladesh coach Gonzalo Moreno being sent to the stands.
In the women's event, defending champions India will clash with Nepal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
India finished second in the group stages with eight points out of a possible 12 -- courtesy two goalless draws against Nepal and the Maldives and thumping 5-0 and 5-1 wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, respectively.
The Indian attack has scored 10 goals in four matches with an average of 2.5 strikes per game.
