(MENAFN- Gulf Times) It was June 14, 2008, and the stage was set for the final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship in Colombo. A billion-plus India took on a nation whose population of about 550,000 may not exceed that of two or three post office jurisdictions in an Indian metropolis. Shockingly, India were beaten 1-0.
In the 2018 final of the same tournament in Dhaka, both teams squared off once more in the final, but India were outplayed again, this time 2-1. Five years prior, a nation perpetually at war with itself and pretty much everybody else put it past India 2-0 in the final in Kathmandu. You must have guessed that those countries were the Maldives and Afghanistan.
To be fair, India have won the most titles in this competition, with nine, but the fact that such a huge nation with much better resources placed second to Maldives and Afghanistan continues to perplex and annoy fans.
Furthermore, India have had problems defeating teams such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal in regional competitions, albeit picking up the occasional victory against relatively higher-calibre opponents like the UAE, Kuwait and Lebanon.
Then, how would you categorise Indian football? A sleeping giant in need of rousing? A pointless and dubious venture eternally mired in uncertainty? A reservoir of talent that remains untapped and undirected?
It shouldn't have come to this point though, given that India had already demonstrated adequate potential on the international stage in the immediate aftermath of its independence. India startled France at the 1948 Olympics in London before being beaten 2-1. Had India not missed two penalties, the outcome could have been much different. But more than the game itself, the team garnered extensive publicity in the worldwide press because many of the Indian players had turned up barefoot!
India were led by Talimeren Ao, who later went on to become a medical doctor. At the post-match interaction with the media, he was asked why the Indians played barefoot, and Ao famously responded:“In India we play football, whereas you play bootball!” Reporters and headline writers had a field day playing up this gem of a quote.
India showcased their football prowess at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and managed to finish fourth overall, losing to Bulgaria in the bronze medal match by a score of 0-3. Earlier, in the quarter-finals, India caused a massive upset by defeating Australia 4-2, with a hat-trick from Neville D'Souza. This was a significant milestone as it was the first hat-trick recorded by an Asian player in the Olympics.
There was more continental success for India as they won their second Asian Games gold medal in 1962, defeating South Korea 2-1 in Jakarta. Chuni Goswami was the captain of the team which also had P K Banerjee and was coached by the legendary Syed Abdul Rahim.
Following that, India competed in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup in Israel where they finished second to the hosts. But the runners-up status was tempered by the fact that only four teams played the event.
Things went generally downhill for India after that, while other Asian teams moved up the ranks. Australia are now ranked 25th and are regular World Cuppers while India stand at 102.
But is anything ever guaranteed in the world of sports? When India take on Australia today in the Asian Cup, they need to channel the spirit of 1956. And who knows grit, luck and possibly providence could come together in the right measure to cause a massive upset at the
Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
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