By Diptayan Hazra

New Delhi [India], September 14 (ANI): Former India footballer and captain Bhaichung Bhutia joined the 40th edition of Fit India Sundays on Cycle in Delhi on Sunday, where he spoke on a wide range of topics from Khalid Jamil's appointment as India's head coach to issues in football administration, and Mohun Bagan Super Giant's upcoming AFC Champions League Two clash.

Jamil recently guided India to a third-place finish in the CAFA Nations Cup, where they defeated higher-ranked Oman 1(3)-1(2) on penalties to claim a historic bronze medal.

Speaking on Jamil's appointment, Bhutia told ANI, 'Khalid Jamil has had a good start. I have just one suggestion, it is really important for him to maintain consistency. Sometimes he really does well, but in the next game, it deteriorates. I think what is more important for India is to qualify for the World Cup and the Asia Cup.'

On Igor Stimac, Bhutia reflected that a noticeable improvement was witnessed in the Indian team's performances during the former's tenure.

'I think in terms of Igor Stimac, Indian team did reasonably well for a long time, he was with us for many years, and under his belt we have seen a lot of improvement, in terms of performance, if not so much in the ranking but Manolo Marquez stayed for a brief period and I feel sad that two of the best coaches, and one of the best coaches in around the world who has so much experience could not stay longer with the Indian team. Now we have to bring in a local Indian coach. I think it's very unfortunate that we left two good coaches, but now let's see, we have to give time to Khalid.'

Bhutia also pulled up the administration, as he thinks they are the reason why Indian football could not benefit from those managers.

'See, if you see both the coaches' statements, especially Igor's, it has been a huge blast against the administration. On the second coach, you could not keep him for six months, and he did not want to work with the national team, which is very unfortunate because every coach around the world wants to work with the national team. When you see a coach like Manolo, who has had a great performance domestically, not wanting to continue is not a good sign for the administration,' he said.

Looking ahead to Mohun Bagan's AFC Champions League Two opener against Ahal FK on Tuesday, Bhutia said, 'I think we have big hopes in Mohun Bagan. I think Mohun Bagan has been one team that has been very consistently performing in ISL (Indian Super League), and I hope this year they will be one team that will take Indian football at least to a good Asian level competition. We have a good hope that Mohun Bagan will perform.'

Bhutia praised the government on the Fit India Sundays on Cycle initiative, and 'I think this is a really good initiative by the Sports Ministry. I cycle a lot in Sikkim, but to do this here in Delhi under the Fit India Movement feels great. Don't keep cycling limited to just Sundays, do this at least 4-5 days a week.'

Cricketer Sumit Kumar, who also joined the initiative, spoke about the much-awaited India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match happening on Sunday.

'It's good that the match is happening. Viewers will get to watch it. The match is happening after a very long time... Team India is really good, it should be a good match,' he told ANI.

Sharing his top picks for the contest, Kumar added, 'Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah should play well and the team should win.' (ANI)