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Santosh Trophy: There Is Pressure On Us - Punjab Striker Balwant Singh
Goal.com's Samay Gangar interviewed 23 year old Punjab forward Balwant Singh after their semi-final victory over Tamil Nadu...
07-Aug-2010 6:55:00 PM
By Samay Gangar
Punjab looked favourites to win the semi-final clash against Tamil Nadu and they didn't disappoint. They won their match comfortably 3-1 to reach the finals of the 64th Santosh Trophy. JCT striker Balwant Singh was the star of the match as he scored two goals, one in each half for his side.
Goal.com spoke to the 5'11" lad on the eve of the final against Bengal. The striker was very happy at the prospect of playing another final. He credited his team's reaching the final to the team coach, manager and the entire squad believing that it was the entire effort that had led them to the final.
Balwant lauded the team's tight defence which has conceded very few goals in this tournament. He shrugged off the team's dependency on him saying that it wasn't the case and if he doesn't score then someone else will step up.
Punjab and Bengal have played each other in the Santosh Trophy final three years back where the north Indians defeated the eastern state on penalties. On Bengal winning the other semi-final against another tournament favourite Goa and another Punjab-Bengal final Balwant said, "Playing Bengal in the final will be difficult. They have an advantage over us being the hosts of the tournament. The previous final will have no effect. We will play like how we have before and will just do as the coach says."
Singh had recently spent a week training with the Wolverhampton Wolves with four other JCT players. When quizzed on how the experience of training in England was Singh said, "The overall experience was very good. The grounds and facilities are obviously much better than those here and the team too was very good. We learnt a lot." However, Balwant was disappointed that the training could only last for a week.
Turning the attention back to Sunday's final, he said, "Whether we will win the final will only depend on how we play tomorrow. There is pressure to play well and win."
Goal.com spoke to the 5'11" lad on the eve of the final against Bengal. The striker was very happy at the prospect of playing another final. He credited his team's reaching the final to the team coach, manager and the entire squad believing that it was the entire effort that had led them to the final.
Balwant lauded the team's tight defence which has conceded very few goals in this tournament. He shrugged off the team's dependency on him saying that it wasn't the case and if he doesn't score then someone else will step up.
Punjab and Bengal have played each other in the Santosh Trophy final three years back where the north Indians defeated the eastern state on penalties. On Bengal winning the other semi-final against another tournament favourite Goa and another Punjab-Bengal final Balwant said, "Playing Bengal in the final will be difficult. They have an advantage over us being the hosts of the tournament. The previous final will have no effect. We will play like how we have before and will just do as the coach says."
Singh had recently spent a week training with the Wolverhampton Wolves with four other JCT players. When quizzed on how the experience of training in England was Singh said, "The overall experience was very good. The grounds and facilities are obviously much better than those here and the team too was very good. We learnt a lot." However, Balwant was disappointed that the training could only last for a week.
Turning the attention back to Sunday's final, he said, "Whether we will win the final will only depend on how we play tomorrow. There is pressure to play well and win."
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