Gurpreet Singh Sandhu feels not giving up changed course of Qatar game

The Indian custodian also spoke about the influence of the fans and the mindset of his team ahead of the game against the Asian champions.

The Indian football team are scheduled to play Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 15 at the Salt Lake Stadium in their third game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The Blue Tigers have only managed to salvage a single point in the last two games, as they lost against Oman while drawing against Qatar, courtesy to the heroics of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the other.

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Gurpreet Singh Sandhu spoke to AIFF Media regarding the influence of the fans, as he said, “As an individual it is something that comes to you with time and experience. When I started playing, as a youngster you get influenced by external audience factor which is good in some way and bad in some way. It can demoralize you at times, if you are in the away section, but individually something I have learnt to deal with.”

“For me now, going into the pitch, my only focus is to play my game and not be distracted by the support outside and that is something I have learnt over the years,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu added.

When quizzed about the mindset before the Qatar game, the goalkeeper quipped, ”The thoughts were nothing different, I ate the same food, drank the same water, the thoughts were very clear. It was a huge responsibility as a player. “

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“The idea was to go out there and not to give up because I know some people already gave up thinking Qatar is a huge team for us. But, to have believe in ourselves that went beyond the pitch,” the 27-year-old further elaborated.