Even sunil

Shaifur Rahman Moni: Head coach Ishfaq Ahmed feels that the first 30 minutes will be crucial for his boys in the tournament when India's under-16 boys team takes on Bangladesh in its opening encounter of the SAFF U-16 Championship 2023 here on Saturday.

The India U-16s have had a month-long training camp in Srinagar, before travelling to Bhutan, where they are set to play Bangladesh (September 2) and Nepal (September 6) in Group A of the SAFF U-16 Championship, with the top two teams from each group making it to the semi-finals.

India head coach Ishfaq Ahmed laid emphasis on his team’s preparations in Srinagar, a city that enjoys similar weather conditions to that of Thimphu.