India’s football head coach Khalid Jamil expressed his delight and gave credit to the players after they won the bronze medal at the CAFA Nations Cup. The Blue Tigers kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 win against Tajikistan.

Jamil’s team then suffered a 0-3 loss against Iran and then played a goalless draw against Afghanistan. For the third place playoff, India claimed a win over the higher-ranked Oman in the penalty shootout.

“Everyone was under pressure and wanted results for a long time. The important thing is that India won (a bronze), but it was all down to the players,” Jamil said in a recent interview with HindustanTimes.

The gaffer revealed that veteran defender Sandesh Jhingan didn’t tell him about his jaw injury, which he suffered while playing against Iran.

“It wasn’t till the end against Iran that Sandesh (Jhingan) told me he was feeling a little pain.”

“Rahul (Bheke) is quiet but a lion on the pitch. Anwar Ali is calm. In the last game (against Oman), substitutes came on and made the difference. Joh hua automatic tha. Everyone wanted to prove themselves. The new players went above and beyond what I had asked of them,” Jamil stated.

Meanwhile, Jamil revealed that he made a first call to goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was overlooked by the former coach Manolo Marquez.

“My first call on being appointed head coach was to Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu), and I told him he was needed,” revealed Jamil.

“If you ask me who is the best player in India, my answer is: Gurpreet. I think he is one of the best goalkeepers in Asia. I told myself that my biggest mistake would be not calling Gurpreet. What did I do to help him? Gave him confidence. Bas baat khatam,” he added.

Third-place finish at the CAFA Nations Cup was imperative for India as the results were not coming their way in the recent past.