India clinch Nehru Cup

Indian footballer Pappachan Pradeep is embraced by a teammate as he celebrates after scoring the winner against Syria in the Nehru up final in New Delhi on Wednesday.Photo: AFP

Turbo-charged India scripted history Wednesday evening by lifting the Nehru Cup international football trophy for the first time with a 1-0 victory over a depleted Syria, Pappachan Pradeep's 44th minute header settling the matter for the hosts.
The win, which fittingly came on the National Sports Day, made the team richer by a staggering Rs.4.77 million, the bulk of this announced even as the final whistle blew. The winner ordinarily would have gone home with $40,000 (Rs.1.63 million).
India were in the attacking mode right from the word go in front of a full capacity Ambedkar Stadium where tempers flew in an exciting encounter that kept the spectators on the edge of their seats.
Pradeep's goal came when he drove past Syrian goalie Mowsaab Blahowss after an on-pass from captain Bhaichung Bhutia. A cross from Steven Dias found Bhutia in the box and he headed on to Pradeep, who did not waste any time to head in.
After conceding the lead, the entire Syrian team who won the league match against India 3-2, looked rattled but did not give up till the last minute. Ultimately they had to bow to the grit and determination of the Indian team.
Mahesh Gawli, adjudged man-of-the-match, and NS Manju manned the Indian defence extremely well.
Syria's Wael Ayan was sent off in the 44th minute after he deliberately kicked Surkumar Singh.
At the start of the tournament, Bhutia had said there was realistic chance for India to win -- and he led from the front to prove this right.
"This is the biggest win of my career. We need to keep on playing well and this is just the beginning. This is a good boost for the World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon," Bhutia said after the final.
"We don't play many international tournaments in the country and this win is really amazing given the fact that the last time we played the Nehru Cup was in 1997," he added.
India's best performance in the Nehru Cup so far was a semifinal finish in the last edition in Kochi in 1997. The last time India reached the final of a major international tournament was in 2002 when they beat Vietnam to lift the LG Cup. In 2005, India beat Bangladesh to win the SAFF Cup in Pakistan.
On Wednesday, India looked like a determined lot as they defeated tournament favourites Syria, who are ranked 112 by FIFA against 151 for the hosts.
India coach Bob Houghton was elated by his team's performance and said that the momentum must be maintained.
"The boys played well all through the tournament. The health of a nation's football is identified by the success of its national team. I think if we keep this momentum, we can really do well in the future," Houghton maintained.