In March, youngster Udanta Singh endured a sleepless night after the loss in the Indian Super League final to Chennaiyin FC. However, on the following day, it was back to business as usual for him and his Bengaluru FC team-mates.
“It was hard luck for us,” says the 21-year old. “In the dressing room, everybody left each other on their own. But, we rise up again and, now, we are in another final.”
From playing in the streets of Moirang in Manipur, the winger has seen a rapid rise.
Udanta’s exploits during the ISL, where he notched up seven assists, has managers paying extra attention to stop him. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped him from adding three more to his tally during the ongoing Super Cup. “My performances in the ISL had people talking about my game,” Udanta tells the Hindu .
On Tuesday, after being kept relatively quiet for most of the first half, Udanta managed to squeeze behind the Mohun Bagan defence before squaring the ball into Miku for Bengaluru’s equaliser. From there on, the Blues pulled off a stunning 4-2 win in the semifinal.
“At half-time, the coach (Albert Roca) asked us to show the character as players and what we wanted on the field. We didn’t think we would win 4-2, but we felt we could win, maybe a 2-1 scoreline,” he says.
Terrific trio
The attacker is one part of the trio of Miku and skipper Sunil Chhetri. Of his understanding with the Venezuelan striker, he says, “The coach tells me that I have the speed on this team and I am to find space whenever Miku has the ball. When I pass it to him, I know he will find me again.”
While Miku and Chhetri have a combined 37 goals to their names this season, Udanta has only managed two. However, goalscoring isn’t a concern for the India international at the moment. “I don’t think about it, I am happy with the assists,” he says.