Feel stronger due to coach Stimac's training: Justin

Newly-appointed India coach Igor Stimac has told players in the national camp personally what he expects from them, Jobby Justin said on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old, who shot to the limelight due to his stellar performance for East Bengal in the 2018/19 I-League season, is part of the preparatory camp that Stimac is conducting so as to square down on a team which will travel to Thailand for the King's Cup. The friendly tournament starts on June 5.

"Personally I am learning everyday. I am getting stronger day by day. There are various aspects of a camp, the diet, discipline, training sessions, etc. I am learning much from the new coach. His training has made us united," Justin told reporters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

Stimac was one half of a prolific centre back duo that was instrumental in Croatia reaching the 1998 World Cup semi-final, the other player being former West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic. As a coach, Stimac's most significant contribution has been leading Croatia to the 2014 World Cup. Justin said that the 51-year-old keeps sharing his experiences from his days as Croatia boss with the rest of the team.

"He would share with us his experience with the Croatian team and (Balon d'Or winner) Luka Modric. He would tell us the diet that they used to follow and the some other details and motivate us in that way," said Justin.

Stimac had initially called up 37 players for the national camp. This included all the players that his predecessor Stephen Constantine had chosen for the AFC Asian Cup in January, barring those who were injured. Since then, he has released Vishal Kaith, Germanpreet Singh, Nandha Kumar, Redeem Tlang, Bikramjit Singh, and Sumeet Passi.

The King's Cup starts on June 5 and India's first match is against Curacao. The other two teams participating in the friendly tournament are Vietnam and Thailand.

--IANS

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