New Delhi: India’s first-ever goalscorer in a FIFA tournament, Jeakson Singh Thanoujam stated here Tuesday that they ‘deserved a result’ in their favour after his bullet header against Colombia had made the scoreline 1-1. Playing their second FIFA U-17 World Cup game against Colombia, debutants India had the fancied South American nation at their mercy on more than two occasions in front of more than 46,000 vociferous crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
“It was a nice experience and I felt on cloud nine when I scored the goal. However we tried our best but were unlucky. It is obviously a great feeling to score for my country in a FIFA World Cup but it would have been sweeter had we won the match,” Jeakson said after the game.
“We deserved a result, and we tried our very best to get it, but in the process we learnt a huge lesson what international football is all about,” added the 16-year-old.
Jeakson, a defensive midfielder in the 21-member Indian team, hails from from Haokha Mamang village in Manipur’s Thoubal district. His father Konthoujam Deben Singh suffered a stroke in 2015 and had to leave his job with the Manipur Police. His family is now dependent on the meagre income brought by his mother from selling vegetables at the Khwairamband Bazar in Imphal, 25km from their home.
Jeakson had to face the disappointment of being rejected by the national selectors in 2015 when he was with an academy in Chandigarh. But his indomitable will brought him back into the Indian team for the U-17 World Cup. And now, he has created a permanent place for himself in India’s football history.
Meanwhile Amarjit Singh, the skipper of the side and also a first cousin of Jeakson, attributed the 1-2 loss to Colombia as ‘sheer bad luck’. But he was also proud that this brother had created a name for himself.
“It was sheer bad luck for us,” Amarjit told reporters after the game. “No not because they scored immediately after we had got our first goal, but because in the first half we also hit the post.”
Amarjit who also plays in the midfield along with Jeakson was quick to point out that he is indeed proud that someone in the family has become the first goalscorer for India in a FIFA World Cup. “I am feeling very proud that he scored the country’s first goal in a World Cup. In fact the entire country should be proud of him,” Amarjit said of his first cousin who broke into the team just six months ago.
Press Trust of India
