SL ready for Indian challenge

By Susil Premalal reporting from Bangladesh

Sri Lanka will be hoping to begin their campaign for the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup on a winning note when they confront India in their Group ‘B’ opening fixture at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh Wednesday (5).

The 1995 champions would take the field while brimming with confidence following some decent performances during the last few months.

Initially, the Sri Lankan Squad had a successful exposure tour to Japan and South Korea and they also had the satisfaction of forcing a creditable draw to their international friendly encounter against Lithuania in Colombo last month.

Led by Subash Madushan, Sri Lanka warmed-up for the tournament with an upset 1-0 win over the favourites Bangladesh in another friendly encounter.

In fact, Sri Lanka Skipper Madushan believed that the team is currently in a good frame of mind and are determined to upset the defending champions.

“We would treat this fixture as just another outing in the tournament despite the fact that India are strong contenders to win the title,” said Madushan.

“We have a very good balanced team and I have confidence that the players would deliver the desired results at the correct time,” added Madushan.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Coach Nizam Pakir Ali revealed that the current outfit is well geared up to meet the challenges in this tournament.

“We are fully aware that this Indian Team is quite a formidable outfit but our players are certainly determined to showcase their talent and potential,” added Pakir Ali.

In the two opening matches of the tournament Bangladesh defeated Bhutan 2-0 while Pakistan edged-out Nepal 2-1.