The national soccer league has been stopped for a month, as India's chief coach Stephen Constantine on Sunday began the preparatory camp for the upcoming Asian Cup and Olympic qualifier.
India play Turkmenistan in their first pre-Olympic outing, while taking on Korea DPR in their Group G Asian Cup encounter this month.
The National League will restart on April 8 once all the senior players are available to their respective clubs.
The preparatory camp began in Margao. While P V Satyen will be Constantine's assistant for the Asian Cup, Alok Mukherjee will shoulder Satyen's responsibilities in the Olympic qualifier.
Senior footballers like Bhaichung Bhutia, Joe Paul Ancheri and I.M. Vijayan began practising under the watchful eyes of Constantine, who has said he is hoping for an improved show after the unimpressive outing in the SAFF tournament in Dhaka.
According to information available from Goa, M.R. Venkatesh is yet to report for the camp. The reason for his unavailability is still unknown.
Bengal's Debjit Ghosh, who reported to Constantine, has not been able to join in the workouts because of ill health. He is expected to undergo medical tests on Monday after which the chief coach will decide whether Ghosh will stay on or be asked to return.
Constantine has reportedly asked his players to put the Dhaka outing behind them and look forward to the upcoming tournaments. He hopes for a better show as the players this time are getting more time to prepare to play higher-ranked opponents.
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