Key Points
12-member squad selected after rigorous national camp
Playing in Group A against Thailand, Kuwait, Lebanon
Coached by former Malaysia beach soccer manager
Speed and technique key strategic elements
India, coached by Mohd Faizal Bin Sood from Malaysia, have been drawn into Group A of the Beach Soccer Asian Cup and will begin their campaign against hosts Thailand on March 20, following which, they will face Kuwait (March 22) and Lebanon (March 24) in Pattaya.
The 12-member squad, along with the coaching and support staff, will leave for Pattaya from Rajkot on the evening of March 16 and reach their destination in the wee hours of March 17.
The national team camp was held in Porbandar, Gujarat, over two phases, with 75 players from 12 states being called up for the first stage, which commenced in October last year. Thereon, the camp was narrowed down to 25 players from February.
Head coach Faizal, who was formerly the gaffer of the Malaysia national beach soccer team in 2019, is heading into the 2025 AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup with a positive outlook.
"We have a chance to qualify for the quarter-finals. Of course, the other teams have been in beach soccer for a longer period, and with Thailand as the hosts, it will be even more challenging, but anything can happen in beach soccer," said Faizal.
The 50-year-old stressed the importance of the ability of the Indian players to operate at a high speed. "The good thing about Indian players is that they are all fast, so it's easy to develop a strategy, and the technical aspects become better," he said. "Speed and technique will be the foundation of our game."
The India beach soccer squad: Pratik Kankonkar (GK), Raj Chauhan (GK), Nehal Parab, Sreejith Babu, Jaypal Singh, Latish Kunkolkar, Rohith Y, Mukhtar Umarul, Musheer TKB, Satish Naik, Mohd Akram, Amit Godara.
Head coach: Mohd Faizal Bin Md Sood
Assistant coach: Akshay
Goalkeeping coach: Suraj Jaiswal
