Indian U16 team featuring P Sameel from Malappuram is in Dubai for the upcoming AFC under-16 championship qualifier (Group C) at Al Qatara stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates from October 3 to 13. The 31 member U-16 contingent consisting of 23 players and eight officials reached Dubai on Wednesday.
Sameel was earlier selected for Arsenal International Soccer Festival where he shined scoring against Actual Soccer.
India, have been placed alongside hosts UAE, Turkmenistan, Oman, Jordan and Kyrgyzstan. The visitors will open their AFC campaign against Jordan on October 3 after which they will face Turkmenistan on October 5. India will take on Kyrgyzstan on October 8, Oman on October 10 and hosts UAE on October 13.
The Indian team is high on confidence after four months of preparations which saw them having a successful tour to Sri Lanka where they won one match against Under 19 and held them to a goalless draw in their second match.
“The team has shaped up well and we had four months camp and that will surely help the team. We don’t rely on individuals and if we play as combined team and the players do their job on the field then we will come out with fruitful results,” assistant coach Thomas Joseph said.
The squad: Goalkeepers: Albino G. Gomes, (Goa), Kamaljit Singh (Punjab), Nitin Meei (Haryana).
Defenders: Abhishek N. Joshy (Karnataka), Anuj Negi (Uttarkhand), Kishlay Singh Sajwan (Delhi), Meldon D’Silva (Goa), Mervin F Stephen (Maharashtra ], Pawan Kumar (Haryana), Rashul Negi (Uttarkhand), Vijay Karthick (Karnataka), Shashank Rawat (Uttarkhand).
Midfielders: Ajnkya A Dessai (Maharashtra), Brandon Fernandes (Goa), Dhillpan Murugesan (Tamil Nadu), Ramesh Santhosh (Karnataka), Sameel Puzhithara (Kerala), Shankar Sampingraj (Karnataka), Souvik Das (West Bengal), Thiruvathanadhan Amoes (Karnataka).
Forwards: Jaybrata Dhar (Jharkhand), Lalnumawala (Mizoram) and Lanba L Samandram (Asssam).
Officials: A R Khaleel (head of delegation], Colin Joseph Toal (head coach), Thomas Joseph and Chalil Melay Ranjith (assistant coaches), Feroze Sharif (goalkeeper coach), P Sujesh Rajan (media officer), Vijayan I Lenin (physiotherapist) and Anthony Cabral (team manager).
Source: the-AIFF.com
Read more on P Sameel at Football Kerala
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Friday 2 October 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.