Cardiff City's Michael Chopra investigates India links
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Cardiff City's Michael Chopra investigates India links
Cardiff striker Michael Chopra is in Dubai exploring the possibility of playing for India's national team.
Chopra met with India coach Bob Houghton before watching their friendly against Kuwait in Abu Dhabi.
He has strong Asian roots and qualifies under FIFA rules courtesy of his Indian-born grandparents.
But regulations in India mean only players who possess an Indian passport are allowed to represent their country, something he does not have.
And the talks are merely tentative at this early stage and there remains a lot of ground work to do should Chopra, who has represented England up until Under-21 level, wish to play for the nation ranked 144th in the world.
Should he do so then it could cause problems for Cardiff with the Asian Cup on the horizon in January, which would potentially rule the influential striker out of a number of npower Championship matches.
India face United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Thursday but Chopra will be back in south Wales by that stage preparing for Cardiff's home clash against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Chopra's India connection comes in the wake of his Cardiff City strike partner Jay Bothroyd being selected for the England squad.
bbc
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the chopra surname has northen indian roots.
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Chopra is one of the few British Asians to stand out in the EPL. He once played for Leeds Reserves when the Bowyer and Woodgate racism trial was ongoing.