India once dreamed of being an Asian superpower, now they aren’t even backyard bullies. Post the SAFF Cup loss to Maldives, P. Sujesh Rajan paints a grim picture of Indian football, which seems to have gone from bad to worse despite the younger generation getting hooked to EPL

LAST August, Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi’s football capital, saw scenes that are generally associated with the famous cricket venue nextdoor, the Ferozeshah Kotla. Players in India jerseys were doing a victory lap, the stands were full of cheering fans with the tri-colour in hand, and self-important officials, getting carried away by the euphoria, waved unabashedly to the crowds.

The Nehru Cup final win over Syria gave one the impression that Indian football was no longer a mess, that it was finally emerging as a case study that could match up with other success stories in Asia. In the months to follow, India scored creditable wins over Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan. The long-awaited U-turn had finally happened, it seemed.

But India’s positive foray up the field has now ended in a familiar faulty finish. The open-net chance to score the vital goal was most clearly missed as India lost to Maldives in the final of the SAFF Cup at Male last week.

It is the kind of result that hurts Indian football the most. That euphoric night at Ambedkar Stadium is forgotten. That familiar smirk returns to the faces of long-suffering football fans whenever there is talk about the status of the world’s most popular game in the cricket-crazy country.

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