Indian international defender Adil Khan shares his love for defending and close bond with the goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and his partner in defense Sandesh Jhingan in an interview with AIFF TV.
Hyderabad FC skipper thinks that he is lucky to have teammates like Sandesh and Gurpreet by his side who supports him in the defensive duty. They denied the Asian Champion Qatar to score a single goal on their home soil with an iconic 0-0 draw last year.
Bengaluru FC star Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was hailed by Indian Fans after his heroic performance in between posts.
Adil Khan comments on his teammates:
“I am lucky to have such teammates in the national team. Unfortunately, we can’t play in an ISL team together but in the national team, we make a great defensive wall for India,”
Speaking about the bond he shares with his centre-back partner, the Hyderabad FC defender also added,
“In the national team, we started training together and that’s when we started building our bond to know each other well. He is very loud. He guides all the players, and me being senior, I still give him the opportunity to talk because he is louder than me and he guides well.”
“I also know how powerful and strong he is. Whenever I make mistakes I know he is there to cover up and I think it’s the same for him. We try to talk a lot, not only when we are playing matches but also afterwards when we are in the canteen or dining room, that’s how we build the bond,”
I would like to play more matches with him. I feel more secured while he’s around as a central defender. Looking forward to a lot many clean sheets when Gurpreet and Sandesh are there.”
He also mentioned the the strong impact the 6 ft 5 in shot-stopper has in the goal,
“To have him in the team it’s a security and you know if you make any mistakes, he is there to cover-up. We have seen the best performance from him against Qatar. His attitude and positivity was amazing. He will be one of the best goalkeepers that India will see in the coming years.”
The center back has also stated about his admiration for David Beckham for long. He also admitted that Mahesh Gawali helped him a lot to be a top defender, what he is today.
When a fan asked him about the secret to grow younger with age each day, he simply mentioned his national team captain’s influence,
“I follow Chhetri bhai’s footsteps. He is becoming younger than every one of us. I follow him very strictly. He is always there to support you and guide you in terms of fitness, diet, what you do in the gym and on the ground. That’s the only thing you can do to keep yourself fit.”
Adil Khan also picked up the point of the importance of a healthy diet. He shares his sacrifices to stay fit at this age.
Adil currently is doing a magnificent job as Centre Back for his ISL club Hyderabad FC keeping things tight at back. Hyderabad FC are at 6th position in the Indian Super League table which is one point off playoffs position. They will be up against Mumbai City FC this Weekend (Sunday, 5 PM IST).
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