Indian national team reaches Nepal for friendlies on September 2 and 5
The Indian football team landed in Kathmandu ahead of their friendly matches against Nepal on September 2 and 5, which is Blue Tigers' first assignment following the 2022 WCQ. The entire squad was undergoing a training camp in Kolkata, having also played a couple of practice matches in the city.
The Indian Men’s Senior National Team, scheduled to play back-to-back International Friendlies against Nepal on September 2 and 5, were greeted by cloudy skies as they landed safely at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu earlier today (August 30, 2021).
The 25-member Indian contingent flew out from New Delhi where they had assembled overnight after the completion of the preparatory camp in Kolkata which had kicked off on August 15.
However, players from ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC weren’t able to train at the camp owing to the respective club commitments in the AFC Cup. While players from Bengaluru FC joined the team directly in New Delhi, ATK Mohun Bagan players had assembled in the camp a couple of days earlier.
“The Kolkata camp helped us to get back into shape as much it helped us gain a lot of technical insights,” midfielder Pronay Halder stated. “It was kind of a perfect pre-season for all of us. The practice sessions were insightful, while the gym sessions helped us to tone down further while attaining strength at the same time. I enjoyed every bit of it,” Pronay added.
The last time the Indian senior team visited Nepal was in 2015, wherein their away match in the play-offs for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers ended goalless, thus enabling them to qualify for the qualifiers by virtue of their 2-0 victory in the first leg.