Durand Cup test for Sikkim United

NEW DELHI: Baichung Bhutia is not new to Durand Cup. In fact, with East Bengal, where he began his career in 1993, Bhutia won the event a couple of times.
But on Friday, the former India captain will be seen in a new role as entrepreneur-cum-player when his United Sikkim make their debut in the country's oldest football tournament. The Sikkim club open their campaign against qualifiers Indian Air Force in a quarterfinal league match.
After his retirement from international football in August, the iconic footballer is focusing on making Sikkim United a force in Indian football and the Durand Cup is the first major stop. "We want to do well in Durand Cup. It is a tough event and we hope to put our best foot forward," Bhutia told TOI on Thursday.
The Gangtok-based club, which was launched early this year, has been able to make its mark in the 2nd Division I-League and Federation Cup. It was a modest beginning but Bhutia hopes United will soon have a bigger presence.
"It will take some time. Lajong has been there in Indian football for some years now as they had already played in I-League. Once we also achieve that target, we are bound to make our presence felt at the national level," he said.
Bhutia is aware of the hardships ahead but he is ready to face them. "Sikkim has huge potential. Last month we missed out in Fed Cup qualifiers but we did extremely well in the 2nd Division I-League. We have couple of national players in our squad. Let's see how it turns up in the Durand," added Bhutia, who hinted at playing for his club in the tournament.
While Bhutia is looking after the interests of the club off the field, the team's on-field show depends a lot on his former India teammate Renedy Singh. Renedy's experience will come in handy for the young side who will square up in a mouth-watering clash with their north-east rivals, Lajong Shillong on Sunday. "We were a bit unlucky as we couldn't qualify for Fed Cup last month. A good performance here will help us before the 2nd Division I-League in January," said Renedy.
Today's matches: Salgaocar vs BSF (1.30pm); Sikkim United vs IAF (3.30pm).