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Sporting's best chance to make Premier League

By Our Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI APRIL 22. Mohammedan Sporting is well past its former glory, but the name still evokes emotions. In footballing history till the eighties, this Kolkata club gave giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal jitters on the field.

Now, Mohammedan is just another team.

This time it is aspiring to give itself a shot at the first division of the National Football League (NFL).

And given the potential of the teams in the final phase of the second division NFL, this could well be Sporting's best chance to make it to the Premier League.

Not that Mohammedan Sporting has done anything spectacular, but it has come up well and the team has in its ranks four established international players.

Liberian striker Eugene Gray, Nigerian defender Awal Ibrahim, striker Habib Aderunle and Ghanaian mid-fielder Ishau Yaro will be the key to Sporting's progress to the next stage.

With former international Mohammed Habib calling the shots, Sporting has a mix of seniors and some exciting juniors in its ranks. Goalkeepers Prasanta Dora and Imran Khan, defenders Reajul Mustafa and Amandeep Singh and Dependu Biswas, India's under-23 captain in the pre-Olympics qualifiers for the Sydney Games, makes it a complete team.

Sporting opens its campaign on Thursday, against Air India, Mumbai in the four-team round robin league at the Ambedkar Stadium here.

The event kicks off on Wednesday with State Bank of Travancore and new comers Hayward Sporting, Goa meeting in the league opener.

The fixture: April 23: State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram vs. Hayward Sporting, Goa. April 24: Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata vs. Air India, Mumbai. April 26: SBT vs. Air India; April 27: Hayward Sporting vs. Mohammedan Sporting. April 29: Air India vs. Hayward Sporting and SBT vs. Mohamdedan Sporting.

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