Mariners speak before heading to Team India camp

This morning (Tuesday, Feb 14th), 6 players from Team McDowell Mohun Bagan left for New Delhi to be part of the Indian National team camp to be held in Dubai and later travel to Nepal for the AFC Challenge Cup 2012. With a lot of fresh blood in the line up, the Indians will be looking to repeat their feat of winning the 2008 AFC Cup.



We caught up with 4 of those players before they left....


When asked about the chances of McDowell Mohun Bagan becoming the Champions of this edition of I-League, Anwar Ali said, "I think we still have a great chance of winning the I-League. With 6 rounds of matches still to go, we have a home match against Dempo Sports Club who are at this moment leading the table and are 6 points ahead of us. Dempo also has quite a few tough matches to play, so the race is still open."

Manish Maithani believes "they are not out of the race yet." He said, "We still have a good chance to win from here, as there will be lots of ups and downs. In football, anything can happen and we can beat Dempo and become Champions, but first and foremost, we will have to win all the remaining matches."


Kingshuk Debnath feels the most important thing is "to keep the momentum going and win the remaining matches in the I-League". "We have to hope for the best and pray that the results turn out in our favour".

Syed Rahim Nabi also sounded confident about the team's chances in the I-League. He said, "This is my first year in Mohun Bagan and I will be very happy if we can win the tournament. It was always my dream to play for this club and I wish my 1st year becomes a memorable one."


Anwar, who makes a comeback in the national camp after an injury said it was always a special feeling to play for the country. "Though I have played many matches for India over the years, there was a gap in between, but Savio Sir called me back in the team for the friendly match that we played in Kolkata against Malaysia. After that, due to injury, I could not go to the SAFF Cup. Now, we will be playing few practice matches followed by the AFC Challenge Cup, and if I get a chance in the team, I will give my best for my country.", Anwar added.

Another Mariner with loads of experience at the international level is Rahim Nabi. He said, "Playing for India is always special. In fact, I try to give my best for whichever team I represent, be it India or Mohun Bagan". Nabi sounded positive about the team's chances and hoped that they could win the AFC Challenge Cup this year.


Maithani and Kingshuk have been called to the senior national camp for the first time.
Kingshuk, who sounded buoyant about the opportunity said, "This is the first time I have got a chance in any Indian team. I don't want to say much now. My immediate target will be to play good football in practice and to get a chance in the first XI. If I get chance, I will try hard not to disappoint those who have kept their faith in me and given me the chance to represent India."

After having represented India at the U-23 level, Maithani is hoping to make his senior debut at the tournament. "I am very happy due to the fact that this is the first time I am getting a chance to represent the Indian Senior team. The last time I played for the U-23 Indian team was in the Asian Games in November 2010. I played in all the matches in that tournament and even scored 1 goal against Singapore", Maithani said.


India, who have been pitted against defending champions North Korea, Tajikistan and Philippines in Group B, will have to finish among the top 2 in the group to make it to the semi-finals.

Team McDowell Mohun Bagan would like to wish the Indian team all the luck for a successful campaign at the AFC Challenge Cup 2012.