Akhil Rawat
AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: Group C of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship witnessed the closest race for the quarter-finals as FC Thyristor, Ambelim SC and Speed Force FC were all locked at nine points each after the last round of matches. However, based on a better goal difference among the three tied teams, FC Thyristor emerged as group toppers, largely thanks to their stunning 9-2 win over Speed Force on the opening matchday.

The Mizoram club, who are making their debut in the AIFF Futsal Club Championship, continued their rampaging form with another big triumph over Guwahati City FC by 7-1. And despite a 2-4 loss to Ambelim making things tricky for them, FC Thyristor got the job done with a 7-3 win over hosts Baroda Football Academy on Monday evening.

The roots of FC Thyristor trace back to 2013 when it was founded as a community team in the locality of Ramhlun Venglai in Aizawl. Now, they find themselves among the elite eight in the country. Club owner KC Lalhriatpuia shared more about the team's history with the-aiff.com.

"Futsal Club Thyristor was founded in the year 2013 by a group of passionate football and futsal enthusiasts in Ramhlun Venglai. The main aim and objective of the club is to nurture and develop young talents in the state and guide them in shaping their future, be it in the field of sports, academics or any other profession so that they can be self-reliant, independent and responsible citizens," said Lalhriatpuia.

Competing and succeeding on the national stage was perhaps not imaginable for FC Thyristor when it was founded, but here they are a decade later. With continued local success, the ceiling kept rising for the club. They could dream of bigger things, from winning titles in their city to becoming state champions and now aiming to claim the national crown.

"The club started as a small community team, playing friendly matches against local teams. With dedication and teamwork, FC Thyristor quickly made a name for themselves, winning several local tournaments since 2013 and gaining popularity throughout Mizoram," said Lalhriatpuia.

"As the club grew, so did its ambitions. We began competing in regional leagues, achieving promotion to higher divisions and started competing in the highest level of futsal competition in the State i.e. the MFA Futsal League in 2018. We became champions in 2023-24, enabling us to represent the state of Mizoram at the AIFF Futsal Club Championship in Gujarat."

As many as 14 teams participated in the MFA Futsal League 2023-24. At the end of the league stage, the top four qualified for the semi-final. In the final, FC Thyristor beat Saron Veng FC 3-2 to claim their first state league title and book their seat on the national stage.

Impressively, FC Thyristor have no outstation players and most of them come from the locality of Ramhlun Venglai. The popularity of futsal is widespread in Mizoram, and the state was a pioneer in the sport, becoming the first in the country to hold a state futsal league.

"Being an indoor sport, most of the time it's easier to find places to play futsal. It's very popular in Mizoram and futsal courts are available in almost every neighbourhood," said FC Thyristor head coach Vanlalchhuanga, who hails from the Bungkawn locality of Aizawl and has six years of experience in futsal coaching.

With 25 goals in four games, FC Thyristor are the fourth-highest scorers in the tournament so far. Seven different scorers have contributed to their goals, including nine from K Roluahpuia, the second-highest individual scorer overall, and five from Peter Lalrinhlua. It was Roluahuia's four goals in as many minutes, which helped FC Thyristor emerge victorious against Baroda FA and confirm their last eight spot.

All the way at the opposite corner of the country now, the Ramhlun Venglai side will face familiar faces Electric Veng Futsal Club in their quarter-final on July 3. For Mizoram futsal, it's a matter of pride to have two clubs in the last eight of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship, with one of them guaranteed to be semi-finalists. While Electric Veng reached the semi-finals last year as well, going down to eventual champions Minerva Academy, FC Thyristor will be gunning to continue their debut run and create more history for Mizoram futsal.