A 21-member team has left Sikkim for the Junior National Football Championship Dr B C Roy Trophy 2019-20 to be held at Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.
The state team has been accompanied by Alpan Lepcha as team coach and Dorjee Gay Bhutia as team manager.
The state team members are Abit Mohamad, Besu Hang Limboo, Gautam Singh, Aninav Thapa, Dewan Mangar, Aryan Bagdas, Kailash Tamang, Aman Rai, Prajit Pradhan, Sagar Mohanta, Rudra Chettri, Bishal Subba, Narendra Chettri, Pratham Sundas, Noel Baraily, Sidanth Darjee, Ronak Pradhan, Anoje Chettri, Peeush Parsai, Amar Tamang and Deo Kumar Chettri.
Sikkim has been placed in group A along with Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura and Tamil Nadu for the league round of the championship.
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Sikkim team will be playing its first match of the championship against the host, Himachal Pradesh on December 10.
This will be followed by second match against Gujarat on December 12, against Tripura on December 14 and last league match against Tamil Nadu on December 16 next.
It has been informed that only the group topper will qualify for the knock-out round of the championship after league round.
Speaking to media persons, Sikkim Football Association president, Menla Ethenpa informed that 45 budding footballers from across the State had participated in the selection trial for the State.
He added that the state team members have undergone thorough 21-day camp organized by SFA at Paljor Stadium and all set to give the best performance in the championship.
“We have a strong team this time and we are very hopeful for the better results,” he expressed.
Team coach, Lepcha said, “We have good players in every position this time and team members are in high spirit and in good form to give good fight to the opponent teams. We are very hopeful for the better result from the State team.”