Hyderabad: India ready for friendly match against Tajikistan

Hyderabad: India’s Under-23 men’s team has arrived in Tajikistan to play two friendly matches against the hosts and Kyrgyz Republic. The Blue Colts’ first match will be against Tajikistan on Wednesday, June 18 at 8.30 pm at the Hisor Central Stadium. Led by head coach Naushad Moosa, India’s Under-23 team was camping in Kolkata since June 1 before travelling to the Central Asian country. After landing in the capital Dushanbe on Monday evening, Moosa’s 23-member squad took part in a mobility session on Tuesday morning and will have a 90-minute training session in the evening. India will take on Kyrgyz Republic in the second match on June 21. “The boys are very excited for tomorrow. I am talking to them about how important these games will be for us,” Moosa said. For Moosa, this is his second tour with the Under-23 team. He had coached the team in two friendlies against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur last year. For the Blue Colts, these matches in Tajikistan are part of their preparations for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers in September. India will face Bahrain, Qatar and Brunei Darussalam as they aim to qualify for the U23 continental competition for the first time. “The weather is quite warm. It’s normal for us. It’s always nice to have supporters in the stands. We would like them to cheer for us. Most of our players are coming here for the first time, so it will be a huge motivation for them. I think the last time the Indian senior team played in Tajikistan, there were a lot of Indian fans in the stadium, so we should expect the same,” the 53-year-old said. “We know Tajikistan is a strong team. They qualified for the Under 23 Asian Cup last year and also did well in the senior Asian Cup. Of course, the players will be different tomorrow. The coach has changed. We just have to go out there and do our job properly,” Musa added.