Kuala Lumpur, Aug 27 (PTI) The India U-16 team, coached by Shuvendu Panda, reached Malaysia on Tuesday for playing four friendly matches against AMD U16/17.

The matches are scheduled to held on August 29, August 31, September 2 and September 5.

Panda referred to the exposure tour as a "very important test" as they haven't played against any country from Southeast Asia before.

"The opposition ahead of us is a tough one. As our team has not played against any Southeast Asian team before, so it is a very important test for us to assess our performance against them," Panda said.

The Blue Colts have prepared well for these matches and the coach feels they are confident as well.

"We are quite pumped for this exposure trip. We have prepared rigorously before this tour and we hope to showcase our optimum performance."

He praised the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for putting in rigorous effort towards development of young players.

"I am very delighted that our boys are currently performing at their optimum level and it is possible due to the efforts provided by AIFF for the development of youth players of our country. I am happy that my team is also a part and parcel of this development chain," he said. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)