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Football

"I don't want to forget"— Bengal Santosh Trophy youngster Sajal Bag speaks on missed penalty

West Bengal's 19-year-old Sajal Bag was thrown into after missing a penalty in the Santosh Trophy final. He shares that recovering from the incident would have been a tough affair.

Sajal Bag playing for West Bengal in Santosh Trophy (Source: AIFF)
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Sajal Bag playing for West Bengal in Santosh Trophy (Source: AIFF)

By

Triyasha Chatterjee

Published: 19 May 2022 10:05 AM GMT

The West Bengal Football Team narrowly missed out on their 33rd Santosh Trophy losing to Kerala 5-4 in the penalties. While players like Fardin Ali Molla, and Tanmoy Ghosh took the headlines by storm with their performance, 19-year-old Sajal Bag made his way to the headlines in a different way. Deemed as the 'failure' for missing a crucial penalty, Sajal was thrown into a spiral from which recovering would have been a tough affair.

"It was tough for me to accept the fact that Bengal missed out on the trophy for me. I cried throughout the night as the thoughts of facing my people back home terrified me. I felt like a failure who had ruined months of practice and preparations just in a moment." Sajal told exclusively to The Bridge.

He added how the social media comments on the team and his miss added to his misery. "People on the social media platforms were criticizing us, calling us unfit without even knowing how much effort all of us have given throughout the campaign, adds Sajal.

While people noticed Sajal missing out on the penalty, what they failed to notice was a 19-year-old being courageous enough to volunteer to take a deciding penalty in an away ground amidst the blaring chant of Kerala fans.

On being asked about his motivation to volunteer in a moment like that, Sajal stated, "I have come from a poor family, we struggled to have our daily needs met let alone football. I used to have a pair of used, borrowed boots for myself. I always heard how the Santosh Trophy was a point in a footballer's career and I wished to make it the turning point of my life. To get noticed and to make it to the bigger stage. However, with the miss, I felt like I have made a fool out of myself while letting thousands of other people down and that my career has come to a halt. "

The thought of their career coming to an end is probably the most demotivating feeling an athlete could ever feel. It brings them to think that they have failed their families, who often struggled to meet the necessities of the athletes, their coaches, and the association they belonged to. The thoughts harm the players even more than the actual incident did as they fail to regain their confidence on the field. That would have been the case for this talented youngster as well, however, his teammates- custodian Priyant Singh and Captain Monotosh Chakladar came to his rescue.


Sajal Bag being felicitated at the East Bengal club (Source: Sajal Bag/Facebook)

"I completely broke down after missing the penalty, our goalkeeper came to me and gave me the shoulder, I needed at that time. While the team lamented over the loss, Priyant was there with me, trying to make me feel better, telling me that it is okay to miss one, that it happens to the best of us. Captain, who is like an elder brother to me, continuously checked up on me, making sure that I didn't succumb to the guilt of causing my team a loss in the finals. However, I was not prepared to face Coach, contemplating his reaction," said Sajal.

"The thought of facing the coach and everyone at the association back home was gutting me. IFA has done a lot for us, for this campaign. From offering us monthly stipends to make up for the loss while we practice as a lot of us work for a living, to offering us proper training facilities. While we were lucky to have received the facilities, I felt like I wasted all of it."

"But Ranjan sir was motivating. He consoled me by stating how important it was for him that I stepped up to take the penalty in such an atmosphere while the senior players did not feel confident enough. Not just for this incident, the coach has been unbelievably supportive of us, he never blamed us for any loss, whether group stage or final. For IFA, everyone was unbelievably supportive of the whole incident. They assured me that it was okay and that I have not failed them." quoted Sajal.

Although a kind word might sound very trivial one never knows how big it might turn out for a person or an athlete. The positive reinforcements and responses from people around Sajal helped him to get over the incident sooner. While he would lament over the miss for a long time, he has learned to accept that it happens to the best of the athlete and is working to overturn his fortunes.

"I feel lucky about the reception I received from the people around me. I don't know what I would have done if these people had not let their kind hands me and pulled me up. I do not want to forget the incident rather I would work harder and try to change the headlines. I want to do something really good for my team and compensate for this incident. The headlines of the penalty miss will always act as a challenge and motivation for me," asserted Sajal.

Sajal Bag will be seen in action soon with BSS Sporting Club in the Calcutta Football League as he ventures to overturn his sorrows. His story will always be a reminder of how a little kind and positive approach from people around one can help an athlete from curbing to their failure and gear up for harder challenges.


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