CHANDIGARH: Come Wednesday, Indian footballing colts will open their campaign against mighty Uzbekistan in 2020 AFC Under-19 Championship Qualifiers at Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Group F has Afghanistan and the hosts as well but striker Vikram Partap Singh believes in Indian magic on Arabian nights.

The 17-year-old forward, a product of Chandigarh Football Academy (CFA), told TOI: "It's a tough draw and we know the strengths of our opponents. The team has been together for almost six months with some good results and preparation. We won OFC Youth Development Cup in Vanuatu and SAFF under-18 title in Nepal."

He said: "We'll have to be on top of our game to qualify for the next stage. It is challenging on paper but all will come down to which team is hungrier for victory on the match day. Ranking doesn't matter much in those situations. We will give it our all to enter the next round." On the exposure trips of All-India Football Federation (AIFF), he said: "The tours helped with tactical development. In Vanuatu, all the opponent teams were sitting back and defending against us. We are used to playing on the counter-attack but there we were not only on the attack but also switching its modes."

Early life

Born in a farmer family of Naushera Sahib in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, Vikram was introduced to the beautiful game by his uncle, Gurucharan Singh. "A big football fan although never a professional player, he brought me to the CFA in 2011, when I was only 9," recalled Vikram.

CFA's Harjinder Singh was his first coach. "The academy's work with youth is incredible. Only a few academies have teams at the under-10 level. The facilities-from studies to the pitches and accommodation-are great. The main thing is focus on ball work, which took my first two years before I even got a match. Running as well used to be with the ball."

Journey, so far

Vikram was scouted for the national youth team from a national school tournament in Delhi three years ago. He has since become a prolific scorer for India at the junior level. He was player of the tournament in the 2017 SAFF Under-15 Championship in Nepal, where he had the best Indian goal tally of five in the team's winning cause.

His best moment, though, was to play in the I-League with AIFF development squad Indian Arrows. He said: "It was a big jump from junior to professional football, the latter being much more physical. I'm glad for the chance. It took me two matches to find my groove and find the back of the net."

On coach Floyd

Vikram thanks India Under-19 head coach Floyd Pinto for making him ready for the AFC showdown in Saudi Arabia. He claims there is no burden of performance on him. He said: "Floyd is a great coach, not afraid to take tough decisions and try every member of the team. The new style of pressing he has brought into the team is good, as is his focus on compact defence."

