‘SAFF victory has instilled confidence in the team’, says Indian Men’s Team goalkeeper

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

SAFF Championship final against Kuwait earlier this week, goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu speaks with Boria Majumdar about the all-important save, what the victory means for Indian football, the Asian Cup next year and more. ExcerptsHow do you look back at that brilliant save that helped India won the title? It was a hugely important save. The match and the trophy were up for grabs and all of our fans wanted it to happen.

As a goalkeeper that’s what you want to do, stand up to challenges. Win it for your team. When you play professional sport you want these moments.

Deep down you want challenges to come your way. This penalty was one such. It was my opportunity to do something for the team, for the country and I am glad I was able to do so.

I was focussed. I was trying to anticipate and back myself. And that save has helped give the fans a voice.

I can tell you I am delighted.I had an opportunity to speak to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey. The AIFF wants the national team to play 15- 20 games in a year. Your thoughts? The Indian national team has played nine games in the last month or so.

I don’t remember the last time such a thing happened. So, this is a welcome development. The more we play against better opponents, the better it is for us as a team.

The only way you can judge yourself is by playing frequently against better teams. I am privileged to be a part of Indian football at a time like this.Sunil Chhetri was brilliant throughout the tournament. How do you rate him as a captain? Chhetri bhai is an inspiration.

He is a national role model, and I am not just saying it for the sake of saying. It takes a lot to lead by example and he does that every minute. In the dressing room or during practice, he is conscious of