India aim to raise image in South Asian cup defence

By N.Ananthanarayanan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India, long starved of international matches, begin the defence of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup next week hoping to raise their profile on the Asian stage.

Captain Bhaichung Bhutia said on Saturday the team had gained some momentum after playing their first internationals in seven months with a 3-0 win and 2-2 draw at home to Taiwan last week.

India, four times winners of the SAFF Cup, are -- at a lowly 151 in the FIFA rankings -- the highest ranked team in the eight-nation tournament staged jointly by Maldives and Sri Lanka from June 3 to 14.

India are in Group A with Maldives, Pakistan and Nepal, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan are in Group B. The final will be played in Colombo.

"It was very important to go into a tournament with a few games in hand," the 31-year-old striker told Reuters by phone from Chennai.

"I'm only worried that if teams are playing too defensive and take it to sudden death and penalty shootout, then you never know what will happen. That is the only fear."

The Indian soccer federation is taking steps to professionalise the domestic I-League to meet strict Asian Football Confederation guidelines to become eligible for the revamped AFC Champions League.

"This is one of the weakest regions in terms of international football," the Indian federation's project officer Shaji Prabhakaran said. "If we don't win, that will put a question mark on our development."