Keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu relishing tussle for spot in playing XI

New Delhi, May 24

India football team’s first-choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu says there is competition with his challenger Amrinder Singh but winning matches is more important than just being on the pitch for both.

Back-to-back tournaments are very good for us. We’ve got a good number of games in front of us, and that’s something that I personally appreciate. I don’t think we have ever done this before. The Asian Cup is very important for us. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, India keeper

At the Tri-Nation Cup in Imphal in March, where India beat Myanmar 1-0 and the Kyrgyzstan 2-0 to lift the trophy, both Gurpreet and Amrinder jointly won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award.

“The relation between the players is extremely good. There is competition for places in a way, but we are like brothers, and we all know that either of us can slot in and do the job on a given day,” Gurpreet said.

Playing back-to-back internationals tournaments prior to next year’s AFC Asian Cup is “very good” for the Indian team, feels Gurpreet.

The team is set to play in a number of matches, with back-to-back international tournaments lined up – the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru, followed by the Kings Cup in Thailand (September) and the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia (October). Preparing for the Asian Cup, which is set to be held in January-February in Qatar, the Blue Tigers are hard at work in their training camp in Bhubaneswar.