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Former India gamers, together with Renedy Singh and Venkatesh Shanmugam, mourned the premature demise of their teammate Manitombi Singh and recalled him as a “fighter” on the pitch and a “friend” off it. Manitombi, a former India and Mohun Bagan footballer, died aged 39 at his native village close to Imphal in Manipur on Sunday after affected by a protracted sickness. Manitombi Singh was part of the Blue Tigers facet that famously lifted the LG Cup in Vietnam 18 years in the past.
The full-back had additionally represented India within the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.
“I was really shocked to hear of his death. He was such an asset to Indian football,” stated his former India teammate Venkatesh, who’s now the nationwide group assistant coach.
Defender Debjit Ghosh is somebody who not solely had performed alongside Manitombi within the nationwide group, however had additionally captained the participant throughout their days at Mohun Bagan.
Expressing his shock on the latter’s premature demise, Ghosh gave some perception as to the type of uncooked expertise the Manipuri was, throughout his early days within the National Football League.
“I was very surprised to hear that he had passed away. We could all do with some good news this year, and this was certainly not one of them. He was a dear friend off the pitch,” stated Ghosh.
Venkatesh added, “I had seen him put in some really good performances on the pitch. He was an absolute fighter, but more important was the consistency that he brought in.”
“You know that if he’s there on the pitch, he will give you eight out of 10 every time. An absolute commitment player,” he stated.
“As a defender, he was right up there with Mahesh (Gawli), Deepak (Mondal) or Surkumar (Singh) as some of the best defenders of that time.”
The nature of Manitombi’s sickness was not clear and his members of the family didn’t share any particulars.
He is survived by his spouse and an eight-year-old son.
“I had captained him back in my Mohun Bagan days, and he’s the kind of youngster you’d want to have under your command. I remember, I used to always bark out instructions to my fellow defenders on the pitch, and Manitombi carried them out to perfection. He was a true warrior,” Ghosh recalled.
Ex-Blue Tigers winger Renedy Singh had additionally performed alongside Manitombi for each nation and membership below his management at Mohun Bagan.
“As a captain, you have to often lead by example. Manitombi was that kind of a captain. He worked hard on the pitch, and that’s how he inspired the rest of us.”
“When you think of a tough tackler like him, you’d rather have him on your side fighting for every ball, than in the opposition ranks,” stated Renedy. While the full-back was a “tough tackler” on the pitch, he was completely different off it.
“He was a real tough guy on the pitch, and was very difficult to beat. But once the game was over and we walked off the pitch, his jovial side took over. He could mingle with both seniors and juniors alike, and that’s the kind of players you need in the dressing room,” stated Ghosh.
In current years, Manitombi had taken up teaching and was a coach on the Manipur state league champions Anouba Imagi Mangal within the 2015-16 season.
Reminiscing about their taking part in days, Venkatesh felt that Indian soccer has misplaced an asset with Manitombi’s demise, as he was teaching quite a few children in Manipur.
“His playing days were over, but I feel that Indian football has lost a really good coach. After completing his career, he was coaching a lot of young talented Manipuri boys,” stated Venkatesh.
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“Having a coach with as much experience as he had, at that level, is important.”
“The knowledge that he was imparting to all these young players who were coming through the ranks under him is now gone. Indian football will miss him,” he added.
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