football: Under the bar,rookie goalie Prabhsukhan to face baptism of fire

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill was as prepared as any newcomer would be.

Prabhsukhan Singh Gill was as prepared as any newcomer would be. Standing as the last line of defense,Prabh as he is fondly called by his friends,was ready to be shot at,or buffeted by his teammates. However,nothing of this sort happened. Instead,the goalie was standing at the periphery of the ground,stretching his lean frame,and trying to get back into shape. He knows he has lost lots of time. The past one week,that he spent in Ludhiana,has gone into combating chickenpox,the infectious disease that rendered him bed-ridden,and couldn’t join the one-week training before he and his mates at Chandigarh Football Academy (CFA) embark to make their most ambitious dreams come true. On Sunday,the Chandigarh team will fly to Indonesia to take part in the South-East Asia Zone finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup.

Prabh was there today,training with the others,but not at his preferred position,i.e. under the bar. “I am just warming up today. Before the tournament,I hope to regain full fitness and get back into shape. I know the one-week absence from training will come to bite me later in the tournament,but I am trying to make up for the lost time,” shared Prabhsukhan.

In the coming week,he will have to be at his best,even more better than his goalkeeper of the tournament performance in the Indian finals of the MUPC. Then only it will tell whether the rookie keeper has won or lost on these testing baptisms.

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“He has been outstanding under the bar. Conceding only one goal and keeping a clean sheet,that too against top Indian sides in the whole tournament,says a lot about his talent,” said Harjinder Singh,coach,CFA.

Against all odds

Prabhsukhan,11,others argued,was too young,too callow to cope with the physical attrition in what was his maiden national tournament. He has never played in any tournament before with the junior team since he joined the academy almost ten months ago.

Yet he was summoned,as a replacement to Timoi who was away in Kolkata. The gamble paid off as Prabh dealt with aerial bombardment from top Indian sides and the trickiest player on the ground with equal panache.

“My confident was sky-high when Harjinder sir asked me to fill Timoi’s place. I was happy as well as scared because it was the first big tournament in my life. I wanted to make the most of this chance. So,I worked hard in one-month and tried to imbibe everything that the coaches told me,” he said.

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The apprentice goalie not only played an instrumental part in helping the team win the India finals,but also pipped many other outstanding keepers to bag the best goalkeeper award.

Just a year ago,at his native village at Sarabha in Ludhiana,Prabh was one of the many aspiring players who wanted to chase their dreams. His elder brother,Gursimrat Singh who had joined CFA,showed him the way. Harjinder,on seeing Prabh,told him to sweep his position from defense to goalkeeping as he felt his height could be used in a better way. “I am happy at the new position now,although I am yet to master all the tricks of goalkeeping,” he said.

Whatever little knowledge he has accumulated in the short time would be tested in the coming times when the Chandigarh team faces top sides like Thailand,Malaysia and the hosts at Indonesia. But as for now,the rookie keeper is surely basking in the new found success in life.

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