Soumo Ghosh
AIFF Media Team

THIMPHU, BHUTAN: Order and chaos! They may be antonyms, but both are essential in building a football team, especially one that is in the middle of a tournament. The India U-16s experienced international football for the first time when they beat Bangladesh 1-0 in their opening match of the SAFF U-16 Championship.

While that was quite a physical ordeal, the team has been using everything at their disposal in Thimphu, Bhutan, to heal themselves before hitting the turf once again for their next match against Nepal. One of the first things that the team decided to do the day after their match against Bangladesh is to swap their conventional ice bath for a dip in the Wang Chhu River, one of the many tributaries that eventually join the Brahmaputra, further south-east.

Head Coach Ishfaq Ahmed feels that this exercise is more beneficial than the traditional ice baths that most teams follow.

“It’s something that we’ve always done as kids, back in Kashmir, and we have always found it to be beneficial, especially after matches or hard training sessions,” said Ahmed. “The water is around 1-2 degrees Celcius, so it does the job of ice perfectly. It is also natural spring water, so there’s always the added advantages of doing such things in natural settings.”

Apart from recovering their bodies, the India U-16 coach is also looking at the mental well-being of the players.

“These boys have been in camp for a month in Srinagar, before coming here, so mental fatigue could always be a factor when they are away from their usually familiar settings,” said Ahmed. “That’s why it’s important to have such activities. The whole team taking a dip and splashing about in a natural stream from the mountains also works as a bonding exercise, and takes their minds off from other rigours.”

A visit to the famous Buddha Point was also organised for the team, aimed to lend a sense of calm, one that is essential before they storm the square plot of green land at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu.

“Since we had a few days between the matches against Bangladesh and Nepal, we decided to take the boys to the Buddha Point, where you get to learn and hear about the great sage and his teachings,” said Ahmed. “It also provides a different perspective on life and I hope that it helped give the boys a sense of calm, which is essential in stressful situations like a football match.

“If you can remain calm in the heat of the battle, you will naturally make better decisions, and that will automatically give you an added advantage on the football pitch,” he said.

Refreshed and joyous, the Blue Colts are now gearing up for their match against Nepal, which will kick off at the Changlimithang Stadium, in Thimphu, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at 2.30 pm IST, and will be streamed live on the Sportzworkz YouTube channel.