It was only around two months ago that 20-year-old goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem was called up for the Senior National Team camp. The momentous occasion that it was, by his own admission, the National team call-up went on to motivate him to put up a stellar performance for his club FC Goa in the AFC Champions League 2021 Group Stage, which took place a couple of weeks later.

Dheeraj, who had twice been named in the AFC Champions League’s Team of the Week for his performances, played a big part in helping FC Goa secure a third-place finish in Group E of the AFC Champions League, with FC Goa being the first Indian team to play in the Group Stage of the competition.

Speaking to AIFF TV, Dheeraj narrated: “I got the National Team call-up right after the Hero ISL. It gave me the opportunity to travel with the Senior Team to the UAE. It was a big motivation for me to train with Gurpreet paaji and Amrinder paaji. I was so motivated at that point that I reported straight to Goa after we came back.”

“Getting into the National Team had a big impact on my confidence. Our coach also gave us a lot of confidence, taking the pressure off from our shoulders. He just told us to go out there and play our normal game, and that’s what we did,” continued Dheeraj.