India will face Oman later today in the third-place match of the ongoing CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan. However, they will be without their leader and star defender Sandesh Jhingan, who suffered a cheekbone fracture during the group clash against Iran. Jhingan has since undergone successful surgery and, in an exclusive chat with RevSportz, opened up about the team’s atmosphere, the progress under new coach Khalid Jamil, and the bigger target of Asian Cup qualification.
Despite being sidelined, Jhingan revealed that he has already congratulated the squad and believes they can put up another strong show against Oman.
“I congratulated the boys on the group chat. It was one of our main aims that we just don’t go for the purpose of participation, although teams looked at it that way. Good that we proved them wrong, to a certain extent, and we gave a pretty good account of ourselves. I am sure we will do the same against Oman as well,” he said.
Reflecting on India’s campaign so far, Jhingan highlighted the importance of their opening victory.
“It was a massive boost for us to win the first game knowing that we haven’t played to our potential. First game under coach Khalid (Jamil), a brilliant start, but the main target of this small step is to finally qualify for the Asian Cup,” he explained.
Looking ahead, the defender emphasised that these matches are stepping stones in preparation for their bigger ambitions.
“In people’s opinions on football, you can be a hero one day and not good enough the next, so what matters is that it is not able to divert your focus, attention, and discipline. Winning against Tajikistan and losing against Iran was such a situation. These four games would be a preparation stage for us to be in best shape, and aim for qualification towards our third consecutive Asian Cup,” Jhingan added.
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