Win over Thailand in AFC Asian Cup was a statement of our abilities, says Udanta Singh

The Indian football team last played an international match was way back in January this year when they had a poor end to their campaign at the AFC Asian Cup in the UAE. The Blue Tigers, however, had a great start in the continental event with a 4-1 win against Thailand. Indian right winger Udanta Singh has said that the team can only go up after the performance in the AFC Asian Cup where they managed to do well in spite of failing to make it to the knock-out rounds.

"In the AFC Asian Cup, we showed what we are capable of. We were unlucky not to progress through to the next round. But our win over Thailand was a statement of our abilities as a young team," Udanta told PTI.

"We can only go upwards from here and the King’s Cup will be another good platform to grow." 

The Indian football team’s next assignment is the King’s Cup which will begin on June 5 in Thailand. Apart from India and Thailand, Curacao and Vietnam are the other two teams taking part in the event. India will take on the Caribbean team Curacao in their opening encounter of the tournament on the first day in Buriram, Thailand.

The Indian footballers are having an off-season since the completion of the AIFF’s knock-out tournament Super Cup in April. Udanta said that he had a couple of days off and after which he tried to train daily and also did some strength and condition exercises along with stretching.

"I took a couple of days off, and I got right back into the grind. I try to train daily, and do some sort of strength and conditioning or stretching daily so as to not only exceed my athletic capabilities but be in better physical form once the season starts," the winger explained.

"It really depends on what you want to do in the off-season. You can relax, or you can put the work in and get ready for the next season. I prefer the latter."