He also had generous words for opposite number Carlos Queiroz, a master tactician who has made Iran an extremely hard nut to crack.
National coach Stephen Constantine announced a list of 28 probables on Thursday for India's forthcoming 2018 World Cup preliminary joint qualification match against Iran.
India streamrolled a hapless Thailand 73-20 to storm into the final of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo powered-home a fourth-minute header to give Portugal a 1-0 World Cup victory over Morocco that took them top of Group B on Wednesday and meant the unlucky North African side become the first to be eliminated from the tournament.
Five-times world champions Brazil have returned to what they will consider their rightful place at the top of the FIFA rankings for the first time in seven years.
Croatia's Football Federation (HNS) sacked Ognjen Vukojevic, a member of the national team's coaching staff, over a "glory to Ukraine" video posted after Croatia beat Russia in the World Cup quarter-finals, HNS said in a statement on Monday.
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui will take over as Real Madrid manager on a three-year contract after the World Cup, the European champions said on Tuesday.
A gritty India survived waves of attacks from Qatar to hold the reigning Asian champions to a goalless draw to steal an unexpected point from their away match of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Chaudhary did not get off to the best of starts and, with a score of 47.7, was placed eighth in the standings after the first five shots.
Long throw-ins a perfect secret set-piece weapon
'We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team'
A dominant India claimed both the gold medals on offer by some distance in the men's and women's 10m air pistol team events on the third competition day of the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun stage, in New Delhi, on Sunday.
Almoez Ali scored a spectacular overhead kick for a record ninth goal of the tournament to set Qatar on their way to a first Asian Cup triumph with a stunning 3-1 win over four-times champions Japan on Friday.
The Moroccan Football Federation on Thursday complained to world soccer's governing body FIFA over what it said were a series of refereeing mistakes in their World Cup Group B matches against Portugal and Spain which led to their elimination.
Aseem Chhabra rates the movies he's watched in 2023, and tells you where you can watch them!
India's shooter Rahi Sarnobat claimed the silver medal after enduring a weapon malfunction in the women's 25m pistol event of the President's Cup in Wroclaw, Poland on Tuesday.
Spain's decision to sack coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup will have little impact on the quality of the 2010 world champions' game, Germany midfielder Toni Kroos said on Thursday.
India jumped six places to 141 in the latest world football rankings issued by the game's governing body, FIFA, on Thursday.
Indian men won the Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament with a 3-1 victory over Vietnam in the final round as they pushed formidable China down to second place in Vietnam on Wednesday.
Bhaichung Bhutia will have a straight fight with former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey.
Sankar's father Subramanian encouraged him to drop out of the schooling system at an early age and pushed him to play in the upper age groups and senior circuits.
Indian football was a picture of good health with a 10-man under-20 outfit's triumph over Argentina
Three South American sides have accounted for almost half of all World Cup titles but their worst overall performance since 2002 has raised the question: Is South American football on the wane?
"The best team won, we struggled from the beginning and we couldn't deal with their long balls. Usually, you press the ball to win it, but this was different. They defended so deep and so well," City coach Pep Guardiola told the BBC.
Earlier in the day, Bolivia beat Venezuela 3-1 at home and Uruguay and Paraguay drew 0-0 in Montevideo.
Hosts Australia have been named top seeds for the 2015 Asian Cup ahead of next week's draw and will avoid being drawn in the same group as defending champions Japan.
'It was surprising and I think that even though there were motives and reasons behind the decision, the players had no say in it and it was not the right time'
Initial 3,500 tickets for female fans were quickly sold out in about one hour and as a result, an additional 1,100 tickets were released for the match at the national Azadi Stadium.
Ronaldo was also one of five Premier League players named in the FIFPRO Team Of the Year, which is the only global player award exclusively voted for by professional footballers.
While sport climbing made its debut in the Olympics only this year, it has had a popular home in India for many years now.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
The 49-year-old's Twitter account was hacked on Monday and the hacker had posted derogatory anti-Iran tweets.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
African champions Nigeria blamed impatience for their failure to break down outsiders Iran in a 0-0 draw on Monday that stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise thrilling World Cup.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Spain snatched a 2-2 draw against Morocco on Monday to qualify for the World Cup last 16 and take top spot in Group B ahead of Portugal on goals scored.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Monday agreed with the safety concerns in Islamabad, raised by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and moved the Nov 29-30 tie out of Pakistan's capital city.
Belgium edged ahead of France to take outright top spot in FIFA's world rankings released on Thursday while tiny Gibraltar were the biggest risers.
Tiny Cape Verde Islands catapulted themselves into surprise World Cup contention with a 2-1 victory away to South Africa.
