It was one of the greatest nights for Indian football. A solitary goal from N P Pradeep against Syria clinched India its first title victory in the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament at the Ambedkar stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
It was a big achievement for the Indians considering that Syria, apart from being much higher on FIFA ranking -- 112 as against India's 151 -- also had the psychological advantage of beating the hosts 3-2 in the league encounter a few days ago.
The credit for India's revival must go to coach Bob Houghton. Under the Englishman, the present bunch of Indian footballers have started believing in their abilities and people responded to their efforts by coming out in large numbers to support their team.
"The win means a lot to me," a delighted Houghton said at the end of the match.
The Indian team, led by the mercurial Baichung Bhutia, reserved their best performance for the final and prevailed in a contest that often reached boiling point to the delight of the 16,000 supporters at the Ambedkar stadium.
Congratulate the Indian football team on this marvellous achievement!