India are all set to take part within the AFC Asian Cup for the fifth time in historical past, as soon as the ball will get rolling in Doha, Qatar, on January 13, the earlier editions being in 1964, 1984, 2011 and 2019. While the primary version stays India’s most profitable stint on the Asian Cup after they completed runners-up behind Israel (it was a round-robin event), the Blue Tigers have by no means made it previous the group stage after that. Many of the present batch of gamers, nevertheless, have the distinctive expertise of taking part in in a number of editions of the Asian Cup, one thing that India weren’t aware of beforehand. As many as eight gamers within the present squad have skilled the magic of the Asian Cup closing rounds earlier than, whereas two gamers at reverse ends of the pitch have been part of the continental showpiece on three events – Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Sunil Chhetri.

While the 2011 version was remembered for former India captain Subrata Paul’s distinctive efficiency between the sticks towards a robust Australia facet, an 18-year-old Gurpreet was sitting on the sidelines, soaking all of it in.

“The experience of sharing the dressing room with the likes of Subrata Paul, Bhaichung Bhutia, Renedy Singh, and all these legends and seeing them at the height of their careers was an absolute joy. I used to enjoy myself in training a lot,” Gurpreet mentioned to the-aiff.com.

“I would get pushed around a lot as a young, skinny, lanky keeper. But I was just like a sponge, learning on and off the pitch. Now as one of the senior members of this team, I just share whatever knowledge I have acquired in these years.”

The 31-year-old believes that the transition of the Indian staff started after the 2011 Asian Cup, which has now resulted in a bunch of skilled gamers within the 2023 version.

“There’s been a big transition over the years. A lot of the players in 2011 were on the verge of ending their careers, so we had fresh players come in after that,” he mentioned. “Now we are at a stage where many of the boys have already played an Asian Cup before – Sandesh (Jhingan), Subha (Subhasish Bose), and Anirudh Thapa were all part of the Asian Cup last time and will be playing their second edition this time around.

“Over the years, this has grown to be an skilled and educated lot by way of footballing aptitude, albeit a hungrier facet,” said India’s No. 1 custodian.

For the Blue Tigers goalkeeper, turning up with the right intent could be all it takes. “I’ve learnt over time that one wants to indicate the suitable intent that we’ve got. As a participant, I didn’t know the way vital it might be to indicate intent within the final two Asian Cups. In 2011, I used to be simply 18 and was fortunate to even be within the facet, and in 2019, I used to be taking part in at that stage for the primary time, however I believe I’ve the proper expertise now to come back with that intent and have it rub off on the others,” he said.

Centreback Sandesh Jhingan has been a key fixture at the heart of the Indian defence for the better part of a decade now. The 30-year-old has played a key role in India’s qualification campaign for both the 2019 and 2023 editions. However, the defender feels that the Blue Tigers are at a stage where qualification for the AFC Asian Cup should no longer be something to celebrate.

“When we had all simply come into the nationwide staff at the moment, Gurpreet, Amrinder (Singh), myself, and all of us had a dream to see India within the World Cup at some point. That should still be a distant dream, however being a daily within the Asian Cup is definitely one step nearer to it,” said Jhingan. “I really feel we at the moment are at a stage the place qualification to the Asian Cup needs to be regular and that we must always not have fun it.

“We should instead be looking forward to making it to the next stage, which is to qualify from the group stage onwards,” he mentioned. “For sure, it feels good to play in consecutive Asian Cups, but right now, it’s time to work more with more intensity and passion.”

The Blue Tigers centreback remembers the 2019 version of the Asian Cup clearly, when India gained the primary recreation towards Thailand, earlier than shedding towards hosts UAE and Bahrain, to be knocked out.

“Everyone talks about the Bahrain game, but I think we should have done better against the UAE. We should have taken our chances against them. This is a stage where the margin for error is very low, and even the smallest of mistakes can really hurt you,” he mentioned.

Fullback Subhasish Bose chimed the identical tune as Jhingan and mentioned that the following step for the Blue Tigers is to try to make it previous the group stage, irrespective of the challenges.

“We did well in 2019 to win the first game against Thailand but lost the next two games. This time, we have a difficult challenge ahead, but our mentality should be to try and qualify for the knockout round,” he mentioned. “We have certainly improved a lot as a team in the last few years, and now we want to prove it on the pitch.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)