KOCHI: The national blind football team, which also comprises four players from Kerala, will soon leave for Japan to participate in the IBSA Blind Football World Grand Prix scheduled at Tokyo from March 21 to March 25.The Indian squad, which ranks 29 in the IBSA Blind Football ranking, will participate in the ‘development games’ which will be held in conjunction with the grand prix. The team will play against the Belgium and Japan B teams.
The squad leaving for Japan includes coach Sunil Jacob Mathew, goal guide Naresh Singh Nayal, players Ashwini Kumar, Klingston Marak, Gabriel Nongrum, Falhan C S, Anish Mangadi Kuttan, Pankaj Rana and Dharma Ram Dewasi as well as goalkeepers Sujith P S and Melson Jacob. M C Roy, the team manager, will also go to Tokyo for the event.
The national blind football team was formed after the continuous effort of the Kochi-based Society for Rehabilitation of the Visually Challenged. To give focussed attention to the sport, an Indian Blind Football Federation (IBFF) was formed which opened a Blind Football Academy in Kochi in September last year.
Meanwhile, a special coaching camp ahead of the grand prix was held in Kochi for preparing the national team players. The training was held under international referee and coach W K Loo from Malaysia. A demo match was held on Friday at the Jogo Football Arena in Panampilly Nagar, following which Loo was felicitated and actor Aju Varghese bid farewell to the team.
It was also announced Sunil J Mathew, the coach and Sporting Director of Indian Blind Football Federation, has been appointed to the ‘IBSA World Blind Football Committee’ from 2018 to 2021 as the IT and Communications Development officer for Asia. In his capacity, Sunil will be at the World Championships at Madrid in June.The grand prix will see six high-ranking countries vying with each other.