Indian football manager Thangboi Singto, one of the finest sportspersons, takes us through his association with Hyderabad and the love that people here have for football this week for Hyderabond.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
India fotball manager Thangboi Singto makes the tables turn when it comes to sports — one of the finest sportspersons coming from Manipur is actually keeping Hyderabad’s tally in prestigious football tournaments.
presently, his birthplace is in the news for the insurgency and ethnic conflict. However, the footballer refrained from giving any comments on the same because he was feeling very sensitive to what is happening. Aside from the dispute, we tried to bring a smile to his face by introducing our special weekly column, Hyderabond, to him, and his keenness made this week’s progression all the more special.
He begins by sharing, “My association with Hyderabad is linked to club owner Varun Tripuraneni, who initially brought me to Kerala Blasters when he was the CEO there and thereafter took me to Hyderabad FC. I was born in Manipur but was raised, studied, and worked initially in Meghalaya. I feel I have developed my qualities as an individual with contributions from both societies; I don’t call them the states, which are similar in many ways yet have their own fascinating differences.”
His remarkable performance in sports made us wonder about the ingredients that his region also has to offer to make a fine sportsperson like him from scratch. Still, he was all applause for our city, Hyderabad.
He continued, “The city of pearls and the city of nizams, as it’s better called, have treated me and my family well with their uniqueness, where we can witness top-class high-rise MNC buildings and with their varied palatable foods, which I crave for. Not to forget, the people do love football, and you find the youth are now playing this sport more than other sports.”
Making this place a perfect place to live, the football manager said, “Hyderabad is a city that embraces all types of people from different parts of India for professional work and to help develop the city more and more, which is rare. It’s a ‘dildaar’ city.”
Born in 1974, he was a captain of the school’s football and basketball teams, respectively, and was involved in various school and district tournaments.
Telling us a little more about his admiration for the current city he’s living in, the technical director of football sport said, “We can’t hide that Hyderabad had a fall-back in its sheen towards football if we compare it to its history where we had fourteen players who played in the Olympics and top coaches like Rahim Saab and Syed Nayeemuddin and players like Shabbir Ali and Victor Amalraj who brought laurels to Hyderabad.
With the ISL Club Hyderabad FC coming in and making the city its own and becoming ISL Champion, it has brought back great hope and aspiration to bring back the lost glory. All the stakeholders and football lovers who are engaged every day in developing football have to be lauded and recognised.”
With HFC Grassroots and Soccer Schools Programmes, the coach thinks we can nurture local talents and help them play in the ISL and for the nation sooner rather than later. Since he feels we have a very committed and passionate owner like Varun in the city who wants to see football develop more here.
He also mentioned, “My fondest memory is lifting the ISL trophy with Hyderabad FC. And taking the trophy all around the city of Hyderabad with its own people. Apart from the best feeling that comes next being in our wonderful training arena and helping guide the players to give more and make them better human beings.”
He joined the Sports Authority of India as a football coach in 2001 and was posted in Guwahati until 2003. Thereafter, she joined the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Meghalaya, from 2003–2012. He shared: “The city of Hyderabad, which has shown great unity in diversity, has helped me to grow better professionally and socially too, as I feel at home here. The support and trust from the management are what drive us to give our best every day and help the club grow.
The easy availability of different kinds of food makes the city more appealing. Biryani, Irani Chai, Osmania Biscuits, Kebabs, Dum Pukht, Falooda, and Garijalu are some dishes I often get to enjoy.”
Giving a livelihood opportunity to others too, he said in conclusion: “For all young football players, please be in touch with us. We have programmes that will help you improve and become a professional player if you have it in you.
My advice would be to get a mentor who teaches you life skills as well as football, as ‘football is more than just playing’. We at HFC are always on the lookout for local talents who can become the next Poojary, Kattimani, or Chinglensana.”
