New Delhi, Aug 20 - Syria coach Fazer Ibrahim Thursday said he was not impressed with the performance of defending champions India in the Nehru Cup soccer.

Ibrahim, whose team finished runners-up in the 2007 edition, feels the Indian team that won the Nehru Cup in 2007 was a better side.

The Syrian pointed out that it was the fitness of the Indian players that made the difference in their 0-1 loss to Lebanon in the opening match Wednesday.

'Two years back, they were more active and probably that was the main reason why they won the match. They looked a bit slow against Lebanon. I hope they will catch up as the tournament progress,' Ibrahim told reporters after Syria defeated Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in their opening match.