New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Young Indian football team forward Farukh Choudhary feels a striker needs to be ruthless in front of the goal to reap rich dividends for the side in any match.

Choudhary, who recently scored his first goal in international football, said being calm and confident are also the hallmark of a good forward.

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"I won't say that a striker is completely different. When it comes to defending, we all need to defend together. But in attack, a striker has a different set of responsibilities," he told AIFF TV.

"You want your striker to score goals. That's the main reason why he's in the team. The most important thing is focus, you need to be focused for the whole 90 minutes. A striker needs to be ruthless in front of goal."

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While Choudhary made his international debut in 2018 SAFF Cup, he scored his first international goal against Nepal in the second friendly which India won 2-1 at the Dasrath Stadium in Kathmandu earlier this month

"I've been trying for a very long time. I created a lot of chances, but never got a chance myself to score an international goal. I don't know how to describe this feeling. As an Indian football fan, as a professional player, to score a goal in international football means everything to me. I hope that I can score more in the future," he said.

"I have been struggling with this, and it often comes with experience. Playing more games, getting more opportunities are very important for strikers. You need to be calm in front of goal. if you don't have the composure, then you can't score," added the 24-year-old.

The Blue Tigers are currently preparing for the upcoming SAFF Championships, which are set to be held in the Maldives next month.

Looking back on his previous SAFF experience, Choudhary fondly remembers his 2018 experience as one in which he donned the coveted India jersey for the first time.

"I was called up to the national camp for the first time before the 2018 SAFF, and I really learned a lot about how things work at that level.

"To play my first international game was amazing. The atmosphere in Bangladesh was just brilliant," he recalled.

(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)