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Siliguri: Life is full of surprises.<\/p>\nSiliguri: Life is full of surprises.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never know what awaits you,\u201d Aiborlang Khongjee, the 475th Player to have debuted for India, says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in Shillong when Karim Bencherifa called me up and told me, or rather hinted that I may be in the National Camp. I thought he must be joking. But the joke turned into reality when I got the call. I was surprised; in fact, a bit shocked,\u201d the 26-year old smiles.<\/p>\n
\u201cNational Camp,\u201d I told myself. \u201cThis is huge. It was my childhood dream. I pinched myself. I never expected the call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom, brother and sister were very happy. But I was nervous. As the day approached, I packed my bags and landed in Goa.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
How was the first day? You ask.<\/p>\n
Team physio Gigy George looks up, Aibor scratches his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared; tensed. I didn\u2019t know what to do, whether to speak or not. It was like my first day in School. More than being a different setup for me, I was still to be soaked into the atmosphere. Things eased out after the first training,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Gigy smiles, so do you.<\/p>\n
Were you ragged? You ask again.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he stresses. \u201cSlowly I fell into place and started enjoying. I was training under the National Coach, under a different system and a different set-up. It was a learning curve,\u201d he goes on. \u201cBut I must say my Club Coach also follows the same philosophy. So I was a bit at home in the practice sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thereafter? You quip back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never expected that I would be getting my first India Cap against Philippines. It was only when Wim-Sir (Koevermans) told it in the Team Meeting that I knew I would be starting. And I became nervous again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nervousness stayed till the kick-off. A lot many questions cropped up \u2013 \u2018Will I be able to justify my selection?\u2019 But the moment it started, I had nothing else in mind. It was just about playing Football, but a much higher intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life is full of surprises, at least for Aiborlang Khongjee.<\/p>\n
At the morning recovery session at the Kanchenjunga Stadium, Koevermans expresses his satisfaction over Khongjee\u2019s performance. \u201cI\u2019m happy the manner he responded,\u201d Koevermans maintained.
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left a good impression in the Training sessions. There were so many fans who were watching and the International Football is played at a much higher tempo. His character was on display.\u201d<\/p>\n
How much is International Football different from playing in Airtel I-League?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe ball moves so much and fast in International Football. In Airtel I-League, the strikers don\u2019t press and prefer to wait for the ball. Against Philippines, it was a different story. If you lose concentration even for a second, you are killed,\u201d Aiborlang says in one breath.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir No 17 was making it so difficult. He was so good on the ball and so fast. You learn so much after containing such Players. I need to thank Wim-Sir for giving me the chance,\u201d Khongjee opines about Bundesliga\u2019s Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Stephan Markus Schrock.<\/p>\n So Aiborlang Khongjee has become a big star? You tease him.<\/p>\n \u201cStar?\u201d there\u2019s disbelief in his voice. \u201cI\u2019m the same old person. But yeah, a much more confident Player.\u201d<\/p>\n As you walk away, you hear Gigy\u2019s voice. \u201cAny pain?\u201d You understand the monitoring process is still on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cYou never know what awaits you,\u201d Aiborlang Khongjee, the 475th Player to have debuted for India, says.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in Shillong when Karim Bencherifa called me up and told me, or rather hinted that I may be in the National Camp. I thought he must be joking. But the joke turned into reality when I got the call. I was surprised; in fact, a bit shocked,\u201d the 26-year old smiles.<\/p>\n \u201cNational Camp,\u201d I told myself. \u201cThis is huge. It was my childhood dream. I pinched myself. I never expected the call.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom, brother and sister were very happy. But I was nervous. As the day approached, I packed my bags and landed in Goa.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-interview"],"yoast_head":"\nSiliguri: Life is full of surprises.<\/p>\n