By a Staff Reporter
Nepal National U20 Team skipper Aayush Ghalan mentiones that the team’s prime aim is to reach the finals of SAFF U20 championship that kicks off in India from July 25.
After completing the first training session at Bhubaneswar, India, Skipper Ghalan states that they want to start the campaign by bagging the 3 points.
‘Our first target is to snatch all three points from Maldives. As of now, we are concentrating only on the first match. After the first match we will prepare for the next one and so on,’ said Ghalan. ‘I feel honored to get an opportunity to lead the team. I will capitalize this opportunity properly. I played football as it is my passion. There will not be any sort of pressure,’ he added. Similarly, he added that the team’s preparation is good and everyone in the team is positive and they will play to win.
The team trained for a month and a half before travelling to India. Coach Bal Gopal Sahukhala believes that the team will perform well. ‘We had an adequate training session in Nepal. The main objective of any youth tournament is to prepare the young players for the future by giving them maximum match exposure. Every youth team in South Asia is of the same level. I believe we will give everyone a tough fight.’ Sahukhala said.
Likewise, Goalkeeping coach Ujwal Manandhar responded that the team’s preparation is good. ‘The role of Goalkeeper is always crucial in any match. So, we must work extra and be alert and prepared for any sort of situation. The keepers have given their best in the training. I hope they perform the same in the field. The ultimate goal of the team is to win the title.’ Manandhar responded.
Megh Raj KC is the head coach of the team. Bal Gopal Sahukhala is the assistant coach and Ujjal Manandhar is the goalkeeping coach. The responsibility of team manager and physiotherapist is given to Diwakar Ghale and Lokendra Kunwar respectively.
Hosts India, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will vie for the title. The Nepali youth team will kick off the championship by playing against Maldives on July 25. Similarly, Nepal will take on Sri Lanka on July 27 and will face the home side India on July 31. Nepal will play its last match of round robin against Bangladesh on August 2. The top two teams will vie for the title on August 5.
Final squad:
Goalkeeper: Ishwor Gurung, Unesh Chaudhary, Jiyarath Seikh
Defenders: Amar Shrestha, Sonit Dahal, Aayush Shrestha, Ajay Chaudhary, Sumit Shrestha, Srijan Dhani, Roshan Thapa, Abhishek Waiba
Midfielders: Dipesh Gurung, Aashish Rai, Sandeep Karki, Janmajay Dhami, Mohit Gurung, Kritish Ratna Chhunju, Sugam Suwal, Managya Nakarmi, Aayush Ghalan
Forward: Rohit Subba, Niranjan Malla, Rohan Khadgi
Head Coach: Meghraj KC
Assistant Coach: Balgopal Sahukhal
Goalkeeping Coach: Ujwal Manandhar
Team Manager: Diwakar Ghale
Team Physiotherapist: Lokendra Kunwar
