{"id":7996,"date":"2012-06-29T12:13:57","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T12:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=7996"},"modified":"2012-06-29T12:13:57","modified_gmt":"2012-06-29T12:13:57","slug":"india-is-land-of-fighters-arthur-papas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=7996","title":{"rendered":"India is land of fighters: Arthur Papas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"images\/football\/arthur-papas.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"India is land of fighters: Arthur Papas\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" style=\"float: left; border: 1px solid black; margin: 6px;\" \/>Muscat<\/strong>: \u201cI had my doubts before coming here. But within three weeks I have been proved wrong. Much like the Australians, the Indians are a fighting lot,\u201d commented Arthur Papas. \u201cI\u2019m happy to be proved wrong. India is a land of fighters. It\u2019s in the culture. I salute my boys the manner they keep fighting till the final whistle,\u201d Papas paid his tribute.<\/p>\n<p>That was on Thursday evening after India\u2019s 1-1 draw against United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n<p>Friday\u2019s morning sun shines bright in Muscat. The plan stays to look forward or rather, as Papas puts it: \u201cto sustain the momentum.\u201d There\u2019s no messing around. The support staff takes care of the bruises and the players have already started to believe. The training sessions are no more dull, the team meetings, no more yawning. There\u2019s no waste of time \u2013 the Team Hotel looks a different Universe.<\/p>\n<p>Co-ordinated movement on and off the field has sunk early talks of a \u2018fluke\u2019 result. The thrill of a triumph in Footballing Philosophy \u2013 making stronger Nations cornered and getting them fearful, adds to the thrill of Papas\u2019 boys. But therein lies the danger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTurkmenistan stay a danger game for us,\u201d Papas tells you. \u201cBasking in past results is what good teams can\u2019t afford. If we are starting to rebuild ourselves, we too need to walk the path.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>National Coach Wim Koevermans and Technical Director Rob Baan comes over and encourages the boys for their fighting spirit. For a bunch where the average age stays around 20, earning a headline stays a dream for all. And for them, Wim stays the key to a headline \u2013 earning a spot in the National Team Camp by impressing him.<\/p>\n<p>Alwyn George makes a comeback for the Turkmenistan match while Pranay Halder sits out, courtesy a double booking. \u201cAlwyn\u2019s availability will give us more options. We need to plan carefully,\u201d Papas maintains, even as almost everyone in the Camp may have overheard him whispering notes about the Turkmenistan match to himself, almost immediately after the UAE match final whistle.<\/p>\n<p>Papas is an honest guy. Not to deny there\u2019s certain bit of childishness about him. He jumps in joy when his team scores and when the dressing room is small, he prefers to climb a chair for everyone to see him clear. But he teaches well and makes his wards think big.<\/p>\n<p>His philosophy has sort of re-invented Lalrindika Ralte. Papas insists, and Ralte goes beyond. Manandeep Singh stays a different flavour under Papas; Souvik Ghosh and Prathamaesh Maulinkar, a different mountain. Papas is not a stereotype; instead he stays someone who is willing to put all to test and fight against the pain to achieve.<\/p>\n<p>With 4 points from three matches so far, most would be tempted to field Jeje Lalpekhlua upfront. But this is Papas. \u201cI need to use him intelligently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeje stays willing to wait. \u201cI will do what my Coach tells me to do. He has a plan for everyone and I am also a part of it. He has explained what my role is and I know it,\u201d the Mizo striker proclaims, even as there are frantic calls from local Mizo fans to speak to Jeje and Dika.<\/p>\n<p>Souvik and Prathamesh, the two Central defenders who drew appreciation from all against Iraq and UAE, seem to watch, copy and learn from each other. The lanky Prathamesh has been invincible in the air and the nimble-footed Souvik, assured.<\/p>\n<p>In between, General Secretary Kushal Das encourages all. \u201cIt\u2019s heartening to see the squad working as a cohesive unit. There\u2019s so much discipline all around,\u201d he said, prior to boarding his afternoon flight back home.<\/p>\n<p>We prefer to roam around. In one of the rooms, you find Abhishek Das deep in meditation. You don\u2019t disturb him and move next. A rhythmic tone greets you in Shaiju Mon\u2019s room \u2013 he is sleeping. Jeje and Dika, the \u2018Tom and Jerry,\u2019 queue up for the ice-bath. A room ahead, Gurpreet is leading Manandeep in the Playstation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have earned respect from all,\u201d Papas says in the meeting. \u201cBut respect for a footballer is fickle. We need to work harder to stay there,\u201d the boys listen. \u201cSip, sip and sip,\u201d Papas goes on. \u201cWater intake has to be high.\u201d It\u2019s a must for everyone to carry a bottle with him whenever out.<\/p>\n<p>In less than three weeks of training, this bunch has changed a lot. The style of play is interesting, discipline noteworthy and the fightback, in Papas\u2019 words, \u201cmuch like the Aussies.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>By Indian Sports News Network<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Muscat: \u201cI had my doubts before coming here. But within three weeks I have been proved wrong. Much like the Australians, the Indians are a fighting lot,\u201d commented Arthur Papas. \u201cI\u2019m happy to be proved wrong. India is a land of fighters. It\u2019s in the culture. I salute my boys the manner they keep fighting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[4279,453,3848,5224],"class_list":["post-7996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-latest","tag-arthur-papas","tag-jeje-lalpekhlua","tag-rob-baan","tag-wim-koevermans"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>India is land of fighters: Arthur Papas - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=7996\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"India is land of fighters: Arthur Papas - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Muscat: \u201cI had my doubts before coming here. But within three weeks I have been proved wrong. Much like the Australians, the Indians are a fighting lot,\u201d commented Arthur Papas. \u201cI\u2019m happy to be proved wrong. India is a land of fighters. It\u2019s in the culture. 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