Arshdeep Singh, a name, which impressed the most from Odisha FC, had an impressive last season where he made most more saves than any other goalkeeper in the league. Clocking 1440 minutes between the goalposts, Arshdeep made 64 saves and 26 clearances. Unfortunately, Odisha FC stood last in the league table in the 2020-21 season with just two wins, six drawn and twelve lost.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with IFTWC, Arshdeep Singh revealed his whole journey till now and looked confident on making more impact in future!
Born and bought up in Chandigarh, Arshdeep told about his inspiration and shared his thoughts about being a goalkeeper from childhood itself.
“My father played for JCT for almost 12 years and my brother who has also played for ‘Sporting Clube de Goa’ has been my support and inspiration since my childhood to become a footballer. As my father was goalkeeper I wanted to be a goalkeeper too,” said Arshdeep.
Arshdeep mentioned his time at Chandigarh Football Academy and AIFF Elite Academy and said,
“As a kid, you always need a good coach and I was fortunate enough to train under a coach like Harjinder Singh. He was one of the best players of Asia at his playing time and training under him was great. He was very demanding and polished our technical abilities at different level and that’s what you expect from a coach at that level.
“AIFF Elite Academy was a different experience for me. The league’s and tournaments were bigger and representing your country is a whole different feeling. The setup was to build up from the back and to do that in any match, you have to put lot of hard work in training sessions especially as a goalkeeper because that’s what coaches expect from us. Today I have reached this level to play in ISL, it wouldn’t be wrong to say it’s all because of the training I have been doing under such amazing coaches and staff,” he added.
In 2015, Arshdeep joined Minerva Punjab FC. He was part of the team who gained promotion from the I-League second division and also won the I-League in the season of 2017-18, where they also qualified for the AFC Cup later.
“I will be forever grateful to Ranjit Bajaj sir for bringing me in at Minerva Punjab because earlier I suffered from Jaundice and broke my hand and I felt like it’s all over for me at the age of 18. I never gave up and came for trails in Minerva who were participating in I-League second division. The experience was amazing as we were promoted to I-League and were also the Champions in the 2017-18 season. Later, playing in AFC Cup was like a roller-coaster ride where I learned a lot of things playing at the club. Bajaj paji has been like a big brother me,” said Arshdeep very excitedly.
Also Read – ISL 2020/21 – Top 5 Emerging Players
Arshdeep Singh played 10 matches in the second division of the I-League but next season in I-League he was on the bench mostly due to the tough competition in the squad. In AFC Cup, out of 6 matches, he got a chance to represent Minerva Punjab in four of the matches.
Due to his impressive stint at the Punjab-based club, a turnaround happened for Arshdeep as Odisha FC signed him in 2019, offering him the contract for three years.
“Moving to Odisha FC from Minerva Punjab was a very important step for me because that’s where every footballer in the country aims to be at. After playing in I-League it was one step forward for my dreams and I was very happy and excited when the move happened.“
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Indian Super League season was held at Goa in bio-bubble where no fans were allowed into the stadium.
“It was quite hard to stay in bio-bubble for five months where you can’t meet you’re closed once or you can’t explore the near places for a change. But I think we all managed it very well by keeping a positive atmosphere in the team just having an aim that is to give our best. However the season didn’t go as planned but I’m sure we will bounce back next season,” Arshdeep said confidently.
Making 16 appearances in the ISL season 2020-21, without any doubt Arshdeep Singh impressed the fans guarding the goals of Odisha FC.
“I always try to give my best for the team, no matter of result or circumstances. I think as an individual I have done some good things but also made mistakes, from which I surely learned from it and try not to do the same in the future. But, I would like to express my gratitude to all the fans. They’ve been amazing and are always there being supportive even though we were not at our best last season,” concluded Arshdeep Singh.
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