India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu does not want to belittle the lower-ranked opponents in the upcoming final round of the Asian Cup qualifiers and said the hosts have to be “respectful as well as ruthless” when they kick off their campaign on June 8.

Clubbed with lower-ranked opponents in Hong Kong (147), Afghanistan (150) and Cambodia (171), world number 106 India are the favourites to make the cut for the 2023 Asian Cup main tournament from group D.