The Indian and Japanese teams together after the match

The Essendon Indian team went down fighting against a visibly much stronger Japanese Samurai team 13-8-86 to 0-2-2 in the opening round match of the AFL International Cup 2017.

The match took place at the home-ground of International Cup for years – Royal Park in Parkville, which saw Japan dominate the game over but not to forget the few flashes of brilliance from the Indian team. It was a marked improvement from 2008 when the Japanese team had thumped India 106-0 in India’s first ever International Cup appearance.

The Japanese team comes out of Tokyo where they regularly train together which was quite evident in their structured play during the game. India on the other hand has come together specifically for this tournament as the team comprises of players from seven different states and some of the players are based in Melbourne. So it was always going to be an uphill task for the Indians to outperform their counterparts in the opening round but there are a few positives that can be taken from India’s performance.

Many regulars in the small crowd that had gathered supporting both countries thought the Indian team played really well compared to the International Cup in 2014 and were positive about India’s performance during the rest of the tournament.

It can be said that the team chemistry of the Essendon Indian team is only going to get stronger here onwards with some great show put up today from players like Sudip Rajbanshi, Karan Singh, Amal Dev, Mahesh Tirkey, Arjun GK and Abhi Kalia.

The entire match was telecast live on Youtube by the AFL International Cup and can be watched here.

Official results of the AFL International Cup can be checked here.

Thanks to our sponsors Essendon Football Club, Air India, UEC and individual supporters like Mr. Avtar Singh who have helped the team Indian team to come out to Australia and put up a show.