Melbourne Victory young-gun, Nishan Velupillay is relishing the opportunity to be part of the Olyroos set up once again after being called up to the Australian Under-23 squad for the prestigious Maurice Revello Tournament in France this June.
Drawn in Group B alongside Mexico, Qatar and Togo, Velupillay and the Olyroos will hope the team can progress past the group stages as they pit themselves against some of the world’s best and the Victory winger is looking forward to the opportunity the tournament presents.
“As a collective, I hope we can go far and try and win it. It’s good preparation for the Olympics next year,” Velupillay said.
“I feel I’ve been in good form, so I’m trying to take that to the tournament. It definitely gives me confidence that what I’m doing here at Melbourne Victory is being appreciated at a national level.
“It gives me confidence to come back into a new season and really make a mark on the A-League next season.”
Velupillay has already been a regular in the Olyroos set up, having attended last year’s training camp in Italy where the side faced the Switzerland U21’s and Italian Serie B team, Como and the forward said he was thrilled to continue to experience international football at youth level.
“It was the first proper camp I’ve been to with games. I went there for eleven days, it was very good, very refreshing, I really enjoyed it,” he said.
“You get to appreciate different environments and learn to adapt, whether that be playing against different styles from opposition teams or learning from different coaches and their perspective on the game.”
Nish and the Olyroos depart for France on May 26 for a six-day camp in preparation for the tournament. We wish Nish all the best for the tournament and hope to see him make a positive impact for the Olyroos.
