Photo courtesy: AIFF Media

The Indian National Team had their first practice session in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Tuesday (October 6) evening. The second practice session, the official one a day prior to the match, is slated for tomorrow (October 7) at the Stadium.

Though the session was held under the lights, the turf was uneven with rough patches of grass all over, with even potholes. And the ball hardly bounced.

In the morning, post breakfast, the boys had a recovery session where they had a fun session of foot tennis followed by a session at the swimming pool.

Speaking exclusively to AIFF Media, Indian national coach Stephen Constantine mentioned about the “positive atmosphere in the camp.”

“The atmosphere is so positive in the camp. That’s the speciality of national camps the world over,” he stated. “We have two crucial back to back matches and all in the camp needs to understand its significance. We need to settle down fast.”

The weather in Ashgabat cannot just be more pleasant. It’s bright sunny all day over and the temperature at this time of the year never seems to pass 28 degrees.

Defender Arnab Mondal highlighted the “urgency” within the camp.

“It’s about doing it on the field. We are getting ready for the challenges ahead. We would be taking step at a time and are at the moment focussing on the match against Turkmeistan,” he informed AIFF Media

“We understand Turkmenistan have some good results at Home. We need to execute the Coach’s instructions to perfection. That’s our job.”

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)