The Indian U-19 women's football team arrived here today for the forthcoming AFC U-19 Championship which kicks off on Wednesday.
India have been clubbed with hosts Vietnam and a strong Iran in Group D and only the Group winners will qualify for the final stage which is to be held next year.
The girls who left New Delhi on Diwali night got a pleasant surprise when they bumped into national coach Stephen Constantine at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Constantine who was on his way to DPR Korea to conduct a FIFA Coaching Course met the players asking them to "fight".
"Fight," he stressed. "Don't let them dominate you. Show them who you are. Fight on the field. Good luck," he told the contingent. The girls even posed for a picture with the coach.
Team's head coach Sajid Dar said meeting the national coach was a "morale booster" for the players.
"It was such a nice gesture from the national coach to walk up to us and meet the girls. It was a much needed encouragement for the girls and even the support staff - a morale booster. Stephen gave his best wishes and it means a lot," Sajid told www.The-aiff.Com.
The players, nevertheless, were greeted by a drizzle at Hanoi. The weather forecast predicts rain for the next five days but Sajid isn't perturbed.
"Yeah, it's raining. But hopefully it won't affect us much. The temperatures are more or less similar to what we had in Gandhinagar where we trained for a month," he quipped.
The Indian contingent is based at the Vietnam Football Federation's National Training Centre which boasts of accommodation facilities, the pantry, training grounds and even the Match ground.
The Indian girls had a light training session late afternoon.
"It was an overnight travel for us. We need to settle down fast. We will have another session tomorrow," Sajid informed.
India first play Iran on November 2 followed by a match against hosts Vietnam on November 4.
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