Promising Odisha footballer Tankadhar Bag has been selected to represent Indian Arrows, the developmental side of All India Football Federation (AIFF) in the 123rd IFA Shield, starting from Dcember 6, 2020, and then in the Hero I-League. Having started in 1893, the IFA Shield is one of the oldest football competitions in the world. Tankadhar is now honing his skills at Balangir Sports Hostel.

Indian Arrows team will assemble in Bhubaneswar for their training camp on November 20, before heading to Kolkata for the IFA Shield. As many as 28 players have been selected for the first-phase camp along with six officials, led by head coach Venkatesh Shanmugam, who is also the assistant coach of the Indian Senior National team.

The 28 players selected consist of players who have been promoted from the latest batch of the AIFF Academy set-up in Bhubaneswar, under head coach Shuvendu Panda. The Indian Arrows are drawn in Group C of the IFA Shield, where they are set to play their first match against Southern Samity on December 6, followed by a clash against George Telegraph SC on December 9.

INDIAN ARROWS SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Naveen Saini, Santosh Singh Irengbam, Ahan Prakash, Syed Zahid Hussain Bukhari.
Defenders: Abdul Hannan, Kushang Subba, Sajad Hussain Parray, Praful Kumar Venkatesh, Evan Thapa, Tankadhar Bag, Dipu Halder, Brijesh Giri, Leewan Castanha, Gurkirat Singh.
Mid-fielders: Pragyan Medhi, Vibin Mohanan, Kanwar Rudraansh Singh, Vellington Fernandes, Lalchhanhima Chawnghlut, Harsh Patre, Lalchhanhima Sailo, Ricky John Shabong.
Forwards: Vanlalruatfela Thlacheu, Parthib Gogoi, Arya Gandharva, Mohamed L. Ahamed, Tapan Haldar, Vishva Shinde.
HEAD COACH: Venkatesh Shanmugam.
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PHOTO: Undated file photo of Odisha footballer Tankadhar Bag.