New Delhi: Sunil Chetri is not ready to accept that India's campaign in the Asian Cup final rounds is going to be easier only because they could avoid drawing top teams in the group.
None of the superpowers of Asian football like Japan, Korea, Australia, Iran or Iraq are in group A, which has four teams - India, the UAE, Thailand and Bahrain.
"You must keep in mind that the UAE are the host team and playing the home side is always difficult. Thailand are a highly improved team and have good preparations. Even the teams like Australia and Japan are finding it hard to beat Thailand," said Chetri on the sidelines of a World Cup promotional organised by Kia Motors.
In Group A, UAE (81) are currently the only side, who are placed higher than India (97) in Fifa rankings. Thailand (122) and Bahrain (116) are way below India in rankings, though that could be no reflection of their actual strength.
Like national coach Stephen Constantine, the India captain is also hopeful of making the second round from group A. In the 24-team format, equally divided into six groups, the top two from each group along with four best third place finishers would make the pre-quarter finals.
To do so, Chetri said winning the first game would be hugely important. "A three point game in the first match (against Thailand) should be the best effort," said Chetri.
India's all time leading scorer, however, said there would be lots of difference between the qualifiers and the final rounds, where all teams would be ready for the challenge.
"We did a good job in the qualifiers and even remained unbeaten for 13 matches in a row. Our ranking has also improved. But the Asian Cup would be played at a different level. It will be a tough challenge.
"I am happy with the kind of performance we have put in. But I don't give too much importance to Fifa rankings. We have broken inside top 100 but the way rankings work is very tricky. What we have to deal with is a much bigger stage and it will not help by what we have done before," Chetri said.
On his own achievements like being India's top goal scorer in history and playing close to 100 matches, Chetri said: "It has been an unbelievable ride. I started out from Delhi and the only reason why I wanted to play India U-17 was to get a certificate to get into St Stephen's.
"Whatever I have achieved now is something I have never dreamt of. I am living a dream and I am really happy about it. I could not have asked for anything more," he said.
In the current Indian team, Chetri is the only player, who also figured in India's campaign in the 2011 final rounds in Doha. Subrata Paul could be the second if he gets selected in the final squad for January.
"In 2011, we had an established team, where all the players were playing in the national team at least for three to four years. In the current side, it is still work in progress," he said.
