Tamil Nadu has left behind the controversies surrounding its participation in the 67th Santosh Trophy football championship and is instead focused on the job ahead.
The team arrived in Kollam on Monday morning and the Kerala Football Association has reportedly allowed the team to take part in the tournament after receiving a letter from the All India Football Association which found Tamil Nadu eligible.
The team practised under the watchful eyes of coach D. Shekaran at the FMNC ground on Tuesday morning.
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Tamil Nadu is drawn in a tough group in the quarterfinal league where it is pitted against the likes of former champions Maharashtra and Goa.
Jharkhand, which qualified as winner of Cluster A, is the fourth team in the group.
Tamil Nadu could only have an eight-day camp before arriving here but coach Shekaran is not unduly worried about the team’s preparation or rather under-preparation.
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Matches postponed
The quarterfinal league matches of the 67th Santosh Trophy, scheduled to begin in Kochi and Kollam on Feb. 21, have been put off by a day owing to the two-day strike called by the central trade unions.
The semifinals will now be played on Feb. 28 and March 1 and instead of a two-day break between the semifinals and final, we will now have just a day’s gap before the March 3 final.