Captains Of 18 Countries at International Cup 2014 Launch

The official launch of International Cup 2014, at Federation Square in Melbourne was a brilliant way to start off the tournament , with the captains of all the 18 men’s and 7 women’s teams meeting each other.

This was India’s third successive International Cup (IC) participation which was a big achievement in itself. With paucity of funds Australian Rules Football Association of India (ARFAI) had to fight unfavourable situations just to take the team to Australia to participate in IC 14. Apart from AFL being the biggest support for Indian Tigers in the International Cup, Bhratiya Vidya Bhavan – Australia was one of the major sponsors, counterpart of Bhavans educational group in India, which has over 100 schools across India, given two of the players in the squad coming from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan school in Kolkata.

India Vs Tonga

The tournament saw India starting off against the big and strong Tongans who physically destroyed the amateur Indian side, but at the same time India did not go goal-less in its first match of IC 14 International Cup, with Biswajit Das, the senior most player of Indian Tigers, scoring the first goal for his country in IC14.

India Vs Papua New Guinea

In the second match Papua New Guinea  annihilated the Indian tigers with an over 200 score to nil, leaving the Tigers with a lot of things to learn from.

Pakistan Captain And Indian Captain

The third match was the main attraction for many as it put forward one of the most intense sporting rivalries in the world- India Vs Pakistan. This vehement sporting rivalry between the two countries was  hailed as the Dosti Cup. Dosti is the Hindi and Urdu word for Friendship, the spirit in which India and Pakistan would play this game of football. The inaugural Dosti Cup was contested on Saturday at Highgate Reserve in Cragieburn, an outer northern suburb of Melbourne. The day began with a pre-match event, which ran concurrently with the Essendon vs Richmond VFL curtain raiser. Guest speakers addressed the audience, team captains were jointly interviewed, bollywood dancers and drummers entertained whilst players shared meal. A number of guests were present, including Ms Manika Jain, the Consul General of India (Melbourne) and Mr Abdul Aziz Uqaili, the Consul General and Trade Minsiter of Pakistan (Sydney). The common message being that both Pakistan and India offered a great growth opportunity to Australian Football, given their large populations, a passion for sport and access to cricket fields.

From the very start Pakistan’s advantage over India was accentuated by the way they were scoring goals. Since all the players of the Pakistan contingent were born and brought up in India, they were all far more experienced than the Indians as far as footy is concerned. In the end it can be said that Pakistan was a clear and deserved winner in a passionate match between the two countries.

India Vs Finland

The fourth round match between India and Finland saw both sides coming to this match after three successive defeats – Finland suffering losses to USA, Sweden and China. India going down to Tonga, PNG and Pakistan.  Even though defensively India made a mark on the match as Finland was held to just three goals but offensively it was again a disappointing match for India.

India Vs Indonesia

The last match of the International Cup 2014 for India was against Indonesia. India this time was more than determined to have their first victory of the tournament. India gave quite a fight before losing a hard fought match as Indian Tigers couldn’t capitalise on their improved performance.

Even though this time India was bereft of an international victory in IC 14 but it was a learning experience for India as players of the Indian contingent got an opportunity to practise at the Punt Road Oval under the watchful eyes of Richmond Tigers, one of the best clubs of Australian Football League.

It is often said that failure is the pillar of success. Even though Indian Tigers this time couldn’t secure a victory but they promised to come back stronger and better in the next International Cup.

Indian Tigers at Punt Road Oval