logo
India gear up for Hong Kong test in Asian Cup Qualifiers

India gear up for Hong Kong test in Asian Cup Qualifiers

The Hindu2 days ago

Seeking its first win in the tournament, the Indian football team will face another acid test when it takes on Hong Kong in a crucial AFC Asian Cup 2027 round three qualifier match here on Tuesday.
As per reports in the local media, all 50,000 tickets for the match have been sold out, setting a new attendance record for Hong Kong football.
Manolo Marquez's men will have their task cut out as they face a Hong Kong side that has been revitalised under the guidance of manager Ashley Westwood, who knows a lot about Indian football and will certainly look to use his knowledge to the home side's advantage.
Placed in Pot 1 for the qualifiers, India, ranked 127th, got off to a slow start with a draw against Bangladesh in March.
Meanwhile, Pot 2 side Hong Kong, ranked 153, also managed only a point in Singapore, meaning there is still nothing to separate the four sides in Group C after the first matchday.
For Hong Kong, the day will be a historic. The game is not only a crucial qualifier in their search for only a second AFC Asian Cup berth in 59 years, but also the inaugural football match at the 50,000 seater Kai Tak Stadium, part of the Kai Tak Sports Park, the largest sports complex in Hong Kong.
Featuring a retractable roof and constructed at a cost of HKD 30 billion at the site of the city's former airport, the stadium even features a flexible pitch system for other sports and entertainment events.
It will be India and Hong Kong's 25th meeting since their first in 1951. India lead the head-to-head with nine wins, Hong Kong have eight, while seven have been draws.
However, the Blue Tigers have won only once on Hong Kong soil, a 2-1 friendly victory in 1957.
The previous meeting in 2022 is still fresh in the memories of many — a 4-0 drubbing in a rain-lashed Asian Cup qualifier in Kolkata.
Defender Sandesh Jhingan, however, reiterated that it's "all about now".
'It was quite a comfortable scoreline but since then, Hong Kong have changed a lot. They have a new coach and a lot of new players. So, it's not going to be as easy, and you cannot get complacent or take things lightly.
'Every game on the international stage is tough, especially on away soil. We are preparing in the best way, and we will go for the maximum points on Tuesday,' said the 31-year-old Jhingan.
Since August 2024, Hong Kong have been coached by Westwood, a familiar name in Indian football. The Englishman led Bengaluru FC from 2013 to 2016 and also took charge of ATK and RoundGlass Punjab FC later.
He also coached the Afghanistan side that defeated India in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers last year.
Under Westwood, Hong Kong have only lost once in 12 matches — 0-1 to Liechtenstein in a friendly. But only two wins have come against higher-ranked opponents, Solomon Islands and Philippines (both friendlies).
In preparation for the match against India, Hong Kong played a non-official friendly against Manchester United FC that they lost 1-3 on May 30, and then a FIFA friendly against Nepal on June 5, which was a scoreless affair.
Lallianzuala Chhangte shared his thoughts on the opponents.
'Playing against Hong Kong is a significant challenge because they have a good defensive setup, and we know their coach as well. He has a lot of experience in India,' Chhangte said.
'Hong Kong are a good counter-attacking team as well, and we have to be well aware of that. We have a plan, and it's all about executing. If we go into the game with the right mindset, attitude and hunger, we can win this game,' said the winger, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Sunday.
Apart from the new coach, the Hong Kong squad also features many new naturalised and foreign-born players. Among them are forwards Juninho and Stefan Pereira, midfielder Fernando, and defender Dudu — all born in Brazil.
Spain-born forward Manolo Bleda and Japan-born midfielder Sohgo Ichikawa also made their Hong Kong debuts recently.
Among the experienced lot are goalkeeper Yapp Hung Fai, who has over a century of caps, defenders Sun Ming Him, Yue Tze Nam and Tsui Wang Kit, all of whom ply their trade in the Chinese Super League, and midfielder Tan Chun Lok.
The majority of the squad, however, play their club football in the Hong Kong Premier League for Kitchee SC, Southern District, Lee Man FC, Eastern FC and current champions Tai Po FC.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

AP sports policy among the best in country: SAAP chairman
AP sports policy among the best in country: SAAP chairman

Hans India

time24 minutes ago

  • Hans India

AP sports policy among the best in country: SAAP chairman

Rajamahendravaram: Andhra Pradesh has introduced one of the best sports policies in the country, thanks to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's strong commitment to the development of sports, said Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) Chairman Ravi Naidu. Inaugurating the Godavari Pushkaralu Indoor Sports Complex at Venkataramaiah Nagar in the second division on Wednesday, he said that Andhra Pradesh's sports policy goes beyond those of other Indian states. Foundation stones were laid for 142 development projects and inauguration ceremonies were held for 19 works, totalling Rs 58.41 crore in investments. Speaking at the public gathering, Ravi Naidu stated that the new policy includes a comprehensive plan to promote sports from the grassroots level. The reservation quota for sportspersons in government jobs has been increased from 2% to 3%, and Olympic gold medalists will now be rewarded with Rs 7 crore and a Group 1 government job. In the latest DSC notification, 421 posts have been reserved under the sports quota, Naidu said. He also mentioned that athletes achieving success at the state and national levels are being given significant support by the government. Expressing his delight over the inauguration of the Indoor Sports Complex, he said that after Tirupati, Rajamahendravaram is the only city in the state to offer rifle shooting facilities. Plans are underway to introduce water sports shortly as well. Municipal Commissioner Ketan Garg said the government is giving priority to sports and is providing the necessary infrastructure to support athletes. He also stated that 25 parks are being beautifully developed, and efforts are being made to improve 20 traffic junctions across the city. Rajamahendravaram City MLA Adireddy Srinivas said that the government aims to transform the city into a major sports hub. The Godavari Pushkaralu Indoor Sports Complex will stand as a milestonein the city's history, created not just to offer basic amenities to pilgrims during Pushkaralu, but also to promote sports, he added. The complex was built with a total budget of Rs 3.41 crore, Rs 1.91 crore from municipal general funds, and Rs 1.5 crore from SAAP funds. It includes facilities for carroms, chess, table tennis, shooting, snooker, billiards, and a gym. It is expected to generate an annual revenue of Rs 10 lakh for the municipal corporation. MLA added that under the Khelo India initiative, a multi-purpose sports complex worth Rs 50 crore is being planned at the city's lorry stand area. Speaking on the occasion, MLC Somu Veerraju described Khelo India as a remarkable initiative aimed at identifying and nurturing sports talent. He said the objective is to enable Indian athletes to make their mark on the global sporting stage by providing the necessary facilities and encouragement. AP Settibalija Corporation Chairman Kudupudi Sattibabu, Ex-Corporator Varre Srinivas, JSP leader Y Srinivas, SE (Engineering) M Ch Koteswara Rao, Executive Engineers P Rita and Madhavi, CMM Ramalakshmi, and other municipal officials and staff participated.

Gautam Gambhir Told To Snub Kuldeep Yadav By T20 WC Winner. No Shubman Gill Or Karun Nair At No. 3
Gautam Gambhir Told To Snub Kuldeep Yadav By T20 WC Winner. No Shubman Gill Or Karun Nair At No. 3

NDTV

timean hour ago

  • NDTV

Gautam Gambhir Told To Snub Kuldeep Yadav By T20 WC Winner. No Shubman Gill Or Karun Nair At No. 3

Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's retirements have thrown fresh challenges to head coach Gautam Gambhir. KL Rahul's recent performances suggest he will open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the lineup. A T20 World Cup-winning ex-Indian player has advised the team management against picking Kuldeep Yadav. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli 's Test retirements have given India plenty to ponder ahead of the upcoming Test series against England, starting June 20. Ever since the squad was announced, a lot has been said and written about how India could lineup for the first Test in Leeds. Some of the India stars were in action recently, playing two unofficial Tests against the England Lions. In the second game at Northampton, KL Rahul smashed a century in the first innings, before following it up with another 50-plus score, all but cementing his place as one of the openers. Former India opener Robin Uthappa has urged head coach Gautam Gambhir to stick with Rahul as opener, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. He also vouched for the inclusion of southpaw Sai Sudharsan, pushing captain Shubman Gill to no. 4 and Karun Nair to five, respectively. "For me, I want to start stronger right at the top, and I would want KL Rahul to open there. With the kind of success he has gotten there, with just the way he batted in Australia, and the way he has batted in the past in England augurs well for India to get him to open the batting," Uthappa said on Star Sports. "At No. 3, I would love to see someone like Sai Sudharsan because of how technically right he is, and the potential he possesses as what we feel and believe he can do and achieve in Test cricket. No. 4, Shubman Gill for sure. My No. 5 would be Karun Nair because you want a little bit of experience there," he added. Uthappa picked Rishabh Pant as his wicketkeeper and Ravindra Jadeja as the lone spinner. "No. 6 - Rishabh Pant, I love him at No. 6. I think that's his sweet spot. At No. 7, I will have Nitish Kumar Reddy because he is a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, your fourth fast-bowling option," he explained. He also picked Nitish Kumar Reddy to add more depth to the batting, thus ignoring Kuldeep Yadav. "I will have Jadeja. Again, increased depth, scores runs, and has scored runs in England as well in Test cricket. So I will have him at No. 8," he concluded. In the pace department, Uthappa picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.

BCCI Sent Big 'Shreyas Iyer Message' As Unheard IPL Story Emerges: "Didn't Get Enough Credit"
BCCI Sent Big 'Shreyas Iyer Message' As Unheard IPL Story Emerges: "Didn't Get Enough Credit"

NDTV

timean hour ago

  • NDTV

BCCI Sent Big 'Shreyas Iyer Message' As Unheard IPL Story Emerges: "Didn't Get Enough Credit"

Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed Shreyas Iyer's captaincy received high praise despite Punjab Kings' IPL 2025 campaign. Despite showing the world his leadership qualities, Iyer stands far from being considered India captain. Iyer uniquely captained three different franchises to the IPL final, enhancing his credentials as a leader. Shreyas Iyer failed to clinch the IPL 2025 title with Punjab Kings but his captaincy earned him a lot of praise from experts as well as fans. The Indian cricket team batter emerged as the top scorer for his franchise, and his knock against the Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator was a special one. Shreyas became the only captain ever to play the IPL final with three separate franchises as a captain, and that has put him in the conversation for India's white-ball captaincy. With India playing their next white-ball series against Bangladesh, PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin sent a huge message to the BCCI. 'You do all your planning for the game and at the stadium in Ahmedabad, everything says bat first. The analytics and the match-ups go through your team stuff, everything says bat first. And this is where our captain hasn't got enough credit, and I hope, when they come down to pick an Indian captain, they really start to consider Iyer. He was outstanding throughout the whole tournament. We say to him, 'Yep we are batting first.' But he goes, 'No, we're bowling.' Punter goes, 'okay let the captain make the choice.' He then said, 'No, I'll win the game and I'm going to bat second. Everything leads to batting first, but we bowl. Then the captain comes out in the second innings and plays one of the best knocks in IPL I have ever seen and gets us into the final,' he said. Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting praised the team's efforts in the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after his side went down to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 6 runs in the final clash by at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Despite losing the title, the Kings' coach praised the team's performance in the season and highlighted how the Punjab Kings were an entertaining team throughout the tournament. "The way that we've been able to play our cricket, it's been a highly entertaining team to watch, and that for a coach to be able to sit back and talk about a team that way gives me a lot of satisfaction. You can probably look at it tonight and say it was probably a little bit of inexperience in the middle order that cost us. But what I know is that we are going to have these younger guys (Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera) with us for a long, and I think they're going to win us a lot of games going forward," Ponting said at the post-match press conference, as quoted from a release by PBKS.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store