MOHAMMEDAN SPORTING WINS INDEPENDENCE CUP!

After a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes, Sporting defeated BSF 3-2 in the tie-breaker in the 59th Independence cup held in Nagaon.

INDIA GO DOWN IN THE FIRST LEG OF WORLD CUP QUALIFIER....

Lebanon thrashed India 4-1 in the first world cup qualifier in Beirut. Lebanon dominated the match while India did do well in patches. Interestingly, the first goal of the match was scored by India, courtesy Sunil Chhetri in the 30th minute. But there was nothing much to cheer for the Indian fans after that. Antar slammed one back for Lebanon in the 33rd minute. Ghaddhar scored twice for the hosts. This heavy defeat means India will have a tenacious task to accomplish in the home leg. The team had trained in Dubai before this match and no one had expected India to lose this way against a team which is ranked just one place above India.

WEST BENGAL CLINCH THE FINAL TO LIFT MIR IQBAL HUSSAIN TROPHY!

Haldwani:Defending champions West Bangal beat Uttar Pradesh 2-1 to lift the 30th Mir Iqbal Hussain trophy in Haldwani. Suprovan Dhar gave West Bengal an early advantage by scoring two in the first half. Krishna Kumar pulled one back for the northern state in the 63rd minute but that didn't help matters for the challengers.

FIRST STEP TOWARDS WORLD CUP BIRTH...?

India will take on hosts Lebonen in the first match of the World cup qualifiers on October 8. This won't be an easy game to win, but Indians are hoping their side will beat the odds to come out on top. The whole of India wants our team to make it to the big stage this time around. After the impressive Nehru cup triumph especially, there is a lot of anticipation back home. India has been seeded 28th in it's group out of 43 nations. We are not very far from this important clash. Lets hope our lads can beat them and bring pride to our motherland!

MANCHESTER UNITED TO SET UP ACADEMY IN INDIA?

According to All India Football Federation (AIFF) sources, India is the latest addition to world territories hosting Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS). The sources also said that Manchester United, in all probability, are planning a football academy in India.Manchester United’s first stop in India will be Goa next month, before the English football giants move over to Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

BHUTIA HAS NO ISSUES WITH THE RECEPTION OF THE T-20 TEAM...

"If the Indian cricket board wants to honour them or the corporate houses want to derive mileage by announcing the incentives, how can you stop them?" Bhutia said.
"There is no point in grudging the popularity of cricket, as it takes the cream of media coverage back in India. No wonder, there will be more takers for the game, though I do feel a little sorry for hockey," he added.
Talking on Indian football team, Bhutia said that "The bottomline is we will have to show more success at the international level, only then will the things improve."

INDIA BEAT AL NASR IN FRIENDLY...

India beat AL Nasr 2-1 in a friendly played in Dubai ahead of the world cup qualifier against Lebonen. Indian were down at one stage but came back hard to clinch the tie. NP Pradeep and Manjit Singh scored for India. This will provide the team with a lot of confidence ahead of the big clash in Lebonen.

picture:- Pradeep in action.