India Today

GOURAMANGI SINGH 26

AWANG SEKMAI, MANIPUR Footballer

- By Kaushik Deka

AT AN ANNUAL salary of Rs 1.05 crore from his club, Prayag United, and Rs 65 lakh a year from All India Football Federation, 26- year- old Gouramangi Singh is India’s second- highest paid footballer. But for this softspoken defender from Awang Sekmai, 17 km north of Imphal, investment in Indian football is not taking the right direction. “One thing our football lacks is investment in youth and infrastruc­ture. National team players get to play abroad, but it’s important for every region to have good academies, right training, nourishmen­t and technical assistance. India is not short of talent, but we need to be groomed to be at par with the best,” says Gouramangi.

Though born in football- crazy Manipur, Singh’s rise to stardom has not been easy. The big break came in 2003 when he captained India’s under- 18 team that won the Ian Rush Trophy in Ireland. The next year, he was selected for the Tata Football Academy ( TFA) in Jamshedpur. “Renedy Singh, also from Manipur, was a star when I joined TFA. It was my first step in his footsteps,” says Gouramangi.

His struggles began once he left TFA. “From being one of India’s most promising players, I struggled in Mohun Bagan. It’s only after I joined Churchill in 2007 that I settled down,” says Singh. In 2007, he was in India’s firstever Nehru Cup- winning team. He rates the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup victory higher— it gave them a chance to play in the AFC Asian Cup. “Sharing the same space with South Koreans and Australian­s was amazing,” he says.

At 6’ 1”, he is one of India’s tallest players. His headers are feared by opponents. On September 2, 2012, Gouramangi scored the first goal, a header, as India beat Cameroon to lift the Nehru Cup for the third time.

 ?? Renedy Singh, Indian national football team member ?? “HE IS CURRENTLY INDIA’S BEST DEFENDER, WHO ALSO SCORES AT CRITICAL MOMENTS FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY.”
Renedy Singh, Indian national football team member “HE IS CURRENTLY INDIA’S BEST DEFENDER, WHO ALSO SCORES AT CRITICAL MOMENTS FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY.”

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