Former India stars Mahesh Gawli and Clifford Miranda have "inspired" Mandar Rao Dessai to represent the national football team.
Dessai was one of the two players making their India debuts in the 2019 Intercontinental opener against Tajikistan.
"I have wanted to play for the senior team ever since I started out with Dempo. I had teammates like Clifford (Miranda) and Mahesh Gawli who played for India back then and they always inspired me and helped grow as a player," Dessai said.
"They believed in me and used to say that I will play for the national team one day."
"Age is just a number," he said, adding, "I have to keep my head down, work hard and keep moving forward. It was a great feeling to wear the Indian colours and be on the pitch. Now, I have to keep my place in the squad and I'm always ready to play whenever the coach wants me to."
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