“It was a treat to watch Lalengmawia play – not just the final, but in the matches that he has been fielded. I am particularly happy with his performance – after all, he plays a similar position to myself,” exclaimed Mehtab. “Sunil (Chhetri) was brilliant as usual in the SAFF Championship. I can praise him all day long, and it would still not be enough,” Mehtab said to www.the-aiff.com.

Apuia has come through the ranks from the junior National Teams, representing India in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017, before going on to play a crucial role for the Indian Arrows side in the Hero I-League in 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

“Apuia (Lalengmawia) has a very cool head. He makes football look so simple – never in a hurry, and always so much time on the ball. I am very fond of him. I just hope he improves on his play,” Mehtab averred.

After winning the SAFF Championship in Male, Maldives on Saturday, the likes of Dheeraj Singh, Suresh Singh, Lalengmawia Ralte, Jeakson Singh, and Rahim Ali have joined the U23 side in Bengaluru. Among the 28 probables summoned for the AFC U23 Qualifiers, all except Sahil Panwar have reported to Bengaluru. As per medical reports from Odisha FC, Sahil is currently suffering from an injury and hence, wasn’t available for the Qualifiers.

The 35-year-old Mehtab, who is currently playing for Madan Maharaj FC, has been following the fortunes of the Blue Tigers from inside the Hero I-League Qualifiers bio bubble.

“There were others too, who played so well. Pritam played well, it was his cross in the second half that helped us break the deadlock. It was nice to see Suresh score a very important goal that gave us the breathing space in the second half,” he continued. “The midfielders need to capitalise on the chances which they get. If they do, it will help us immensely on the field.”

Mehtab was also particularly pleased with the character that the Blue Tigers showed during the SAFF Championship and going on to finally win the SAFF Championship without losing a single game.

“The way the team turned it around was a big testament to the mentality of the players and the coach,” said Mehtab. “The killer instinct that they showed, to never accept defeat in the face of adversity shows their character. People, especially footballers go through rough phases, but it’s all about how you come back from such phases. This is exactly what I told the youngsters in our club while watching the matches.”

“Such trophies on the international stage are always good for Indian football, it bodes well for the future. As a former National Team player, I would always love to see the boys win more. That will always help take Indian football forward together,” the veteran midfield general averred.

Another ex-Blue Tiger, who is present in the Hero I-League bio-bubble is former India defender Anwar Ali (Sr), who is playing for Delhi FC in the Hero I-League Qualifiers.

“We’ve had the opportunity to watch all the National Team matches since our matches were never at the same time. This is a good opportunity for a club side to form bonds between the teammates while supporting the National Team together,” said Anwar.

“Winning is always good for the morale — be it us winning our club matches here, or the National Team winning in Maldives. I’d like to congratulate the Blue Tigers. Any silverware earned on the international level is always good, as you get to go down in history,” he continued.

The 28-member list of probables is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Prateek Kumar Singh, Mohammad Nawaz.

Defenders: Narender Gahlot, Bikash Yumnam, Alex Saji, Hormipam Ruivah, Halen Nongtdu, Asish Rai, Sumit Rathi, Akash Mishra, Sahil Panwar.

Midfielders: SK Sahil, Suresh Singh, Amarjit Singh, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Deepak Tangri, Rahul KP, Komal Thatal, Nikhil Raj, Bryce Miranda, Princeton Rebello.

Forwards: Vikram Partap Singh, Rahim Ali, Rohit Danu, Aniket Jadhav.

Fixtures:

October 24: Oman vs India
October 27: India vs UAE
October 30: India vs Kyrgyz Republic

CREDITS- AIFF MEDIA

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Also Read: Pravitto Raju stars with a late winner as Kenkre FC edge Madan Maharaj FC

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There have been constant twists in the Apuia transfer saga for a long time. It all started with the interests of ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC. Then recently, there were rumours that J1 side Tokyo FC are interested in signing the Defensive midfielder.

According to ‘Local Japanese sources’, J1 league side FC Tokyo are interested in signing Indian Defensive Midfielder Lalengmawia (Apuia). [@MarcoMolla] #HeroISL #FCTokyo #JapaneseFootball #IndianFootball #Transfers pic.twitter.com/rMSQy3H8HG

— 90ndstoppage (@90ndstoppage) August 4, 2021

The reported transfer fee is supposed to be around ₹2 crore, which is double what ATKMB gave to Hyderabad FC for Listen Colaco this season. It is known that Apuia always had his eyes on Mumbai City after the influential City Football Group took over. There were initial offers from Bengaluru FC and ATKMB, but the ISL champions were always in the driving seat.

According to the Times of India, a source said that “NorthEast wanted Apuia to continue, but the player had made up his mind to make a move. There was no point in keeping a player whose heart was set elsewhere.”

Apuia had a dream season last year with Northeast United, where he led his team to the semifinals and became the ISL Emerging Player of the Year. At age 20, he became the youngest player ever to captain an ISL side when he led NEUFC against FC Goa.

The 20-year-old midfielder was the first player from Mizoram to feature in the U-17 World Cup for India. He joined NEUFC in 2019 after playing a couple of seasons with Indian Arrows, and now he is all set to play for the ISL Champions Mumbai City FC!

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Vikram Pratap Singh (18th minute), Lalengmawia (32nd minute) and Ninthoi (45 + 3 minutes) scored for Arrows.

Arrows pressed hard right from the start and went on the offensive.

They constantly troubled the Lajong defence but were found wanting for a good finish.

Such was the nature of Arrows’ early blitz that it took Lajong a while to regroup!

Lajong missed a great chance to score when Kitrboklang fluffed his lines in the 11th minute.

Arrows opened the scoring when Singh’s superb header found the back of the net in the 18th minute.

Aashish Rai provided the assist with a fine cross!

Shillong for all of their efforts couldn’t go past the strong Arrows defence.

Arrows scored again when Lalengmawia hit home off Singh’s pass in the 32nd minute.

Credit to Arrows goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill who denied Lajong a comeback goal.

Arrows made it 3-0 at the end of the first half when Ninthoi found the back of the net from a rebound.

Though Lajong introduced Phrangki Buam in the second-half it didn’t work as the Arrows’ back-line held firm.

The home team did create a few chances but were denied a fourth goal by Lajong.

A focused Lajong defence kept the bristling Arrows strike-force at bay in the second-half.

Optea and Buam failed to score off a simple chance in the 74th minute. A goal then would have given Lajong a glimmer of hope!

Arrows dominated the game throughout while defensive lapses cost Lajong the game.

Lalengmawia was adjudged the ‘Hero of the Match’.

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