Captain Amarjit hopes to live up to expectations

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Bengaluru, September 20: Amarjit Singh, who was named Indian captain for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, hopes to live up to expectations.

With just 16 days to go, the Manipuri midfielder was the unanimous choice for the tournament starting on October 6 across six venues in the country.

The hosts, who are in Group A begin their campaign with a game against USA in New Delhi on the opening day. Colombia and Ghana are the other team's in India's group.

Coach Luis Norton de Matos had suggested four names and asked each of the 27 players in the team to write on a sheet of paper their choice .

The first name would get five points, the next three and the final choice one. The players voted for Amarjit as their captain, while Jitendra Singh, who was second, will be his deputy.

"It is indeed a great honour bestowed on me by my teammates. I hope that I can live up to their expectations," Amarjit told the AIFF website.

Amarjit was introduced to the game by his uncle and soon found himself at the Chandigarh Football Academy.

When the selectors were hunting for players to represent India at the U-17 World Cup, Amarjit was invited for trials and he caught the eye of everyone.

At first he was slotted with the reserve side and made the first team grade after German coach Nicolai Adam was impressed with his abilities in midfield.

"I am quite blessed to be here and hope to give my best every time I am on the field," the 16-year-old added.