Dear Colleagues, Please find below a player profile copy of India U-16 Defender Harpreet Singh, a match report pertaining to the Indian U-19 National Team's clash against France and a quote copy of the Indian U-19 National Team Head Coach Floyd Pinto.
--- HAPPY WILL BE ‘HAPPIEST TO REPLICATE SANDESH-PAAJI’ *AIFF Media Team* *NEW DELHI: *Born in the state of Punjab, there is little that differentiates Harpreet Singh from a typical ‘Punjabi.’ His nickname ‘Happy’ and the ever-glowing smile on his face adds more to the charm of a young footballer from the State that has produced National Team players over the years. But ‘Happy’ was somewhat of a rebel for Football when he was young. “I cried a lot,” he smiles and recollects. “I use to cry a lot when my father forced me to go to school but at that time all I wanted to play was Football.” “Football has been my first love since I was a child and I was scolded a lot many times for going to play instead of studying” But gradually times changed. “My parents understood my desire for the sport and when I got selected for the Indian team, they cried with joy and were happy that their son is representing the Country.” The state of Punjab has been a football nursery over the years and with the Indian U-16 National Team having more than five ‘Punjabi-s’ in the squad, the vigour is easily identifiable. No wonder Harpreet’s favourite player is Sandesh Jhingan, who plays in the same position as he does – defence. “Sandesh paaji is my role model. In fact, he is the role model of many in the team and I am inspired by the way he plays on the field -- Fearless. That is how I want to play. I will be happiest if I can grow up to be a player like him.” Perhaps playing fearless will come in handy as the Indian U-16s gear up for the AFC U-16 Championship Malaysia 2018 in an attempt to make history and qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Peru 2019. But Harpreet does not want to stop there. “I want to win the AFC U-16 Championship. We want to create history and become the first team to qualify (for the FIFA U17 World Cup) and become Champions.” “It will certainly be a hard feat to achieve but we have been training harder and have belief in our system that we can accomplish this” The defender notched up a goal in a 3-0 win over Yemen and stays confident that “if the ball comes to me from a corner kick scenario, I will try my best to score” “As a defender my first job is to defend, but scoring is important for me as well.” -- WE HAD OUR CHANCES AGAINST FRANCE: FLOYD PINTO *AIFF Media Team* *NEW DELHI:* After the Indian U-19 National Team went down 0-2 against the U-19 Youth Team of World Champions France, Head Coach Floyd Pinto stated that matches against superior opponents are pivotal in development of a team. “I am happy with the Team’s performance in the Four-Nation International Tournament,” he stated. *READ: https://the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=9161 <https://the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=9161>* *---* INDIA GO DOWN TO U-19 YOUTH TEAM OF WORLD CHAMPIONS FRANCE *AIFF Media Team* *NEW DELHI:* India U-19 went down 0-2 to U-19 National Team in the four-nation tournament in Zagreb, Croatia. The match was a historic first as this was the first time that any Indian age-group National Team ever played any National Team of a current World Champion. *READ: https://the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=9160 <https://the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=9160>* *---* Best Regards, Media Department, AIFF. Alternate: [email protected] Website: www.the-aiff.com
