Sports Minister Vijay Goel today asked the India Under-17 football squad to draw inspiration from the national women's cricket team ahead of their maiden appearance in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be hosted by the country for the first time later this year.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel today asked the India Under-17 football squad to draw inspiration from the national women's cricket team ahead of their maiden appearance in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup to be hosted by the country for the first time later this year.
Indian women's cricket team missed the World Cup title by a whisker last Sunday as they finished runners-up after losing to hosts England by nine runs in a nail-bitting final at Lord's.
Terming the Under-17 football team as "dark horse", Goel hoped a fine show from the side in the quadrennial event will do a world of good for the sport in the country.
"The Under-17 team looks ready for the tournament. Their preparation has been on the right track. They already toured 10-12 countries in the run up to the event. They will prove dark horse in the tournament," Goel said during a meeting with the side at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here.
"The performance of the women's cricket team in the World Cup should give them (Under-17 team) inspiration. The women cricketers were so near to the title. The whole country is proud of their performance," he said.
The Under-17 World Cup will be held in the country from October 6 to 28. India are placed in a tough Group A along side Colombia, Ghana and USA.
Currently the Under-17 team is preparing for a four- nation tournament in Mexico in August, where besides India, and Mexico, Columbia and Chile are the other participating teams.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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