Final may be shifted to the Capital

The organisers will take a call after inspecting the Ambedkar Stadium pitch today

MUMBAI: Incessant rain in the last eight days has forced the AFC Challenge Cup final between India and Tajikistan to be shifted to a new venue. The organising committee will take a decision on the next venue after inspecting the Ambedkar Stadium pitch in New Delhi on Sunday.  In all probability, the final and the third-place play-off match between North Korea and Myanmar will be played in New Delhi on August 13,” an AIFF source said on Saturday.

Owing to torrential downpour the playing surface at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad has deteriorated and India’s final group league tie against Turkmenistan on Sunday and the last-four clash with Myanmar on Thursday were played virtually on a paddy field, with mud and pools of water all over the ground.

Talks were there to shift the final to Lal Bahadur Stadium, but India coach Bob Houghton ruled out playing and advocated for a change of city. Since there is rains almost everywhere in the country, Houghton didn’t like to suggest any name for the venue of the final.

“Lal Bahadur Stadium was no better than Gachibowli. It will be an embarrassment for the AFC and AIFF if the final is played at LBS,” Houghton is believed to have told the organisers. Houghton, it has been learnt, has also ruled out Kolkata as a venue for the same reason. “I don’t know which place we would like to play with rain everywhere in the country. But don’t tell me Kolkata,” he said.