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I want to make Assam smile again: Indian footballer Halicharan Narzary
Halicharan Narzary is determined to make his mark as he sets to make a comeback to the national team after a long injury lay-off.
Guwahati: One of the most prolific midfielders of the present day, Halicharan Narzary is determined to make his mark as he sets to make a comeback to the national team after a long injury lay-off. The 25-year old Assam lad during an interview with www.the-aiff.com, said that he wants to make his state smile again.
“I want to make Assam smile again. Assam has suffered a lot from the recent floods. But it's time to make it (Assam) smile again,” Narzary said.
Assam suffered a major flood situation recently, and the entire state has to build everything almost from scratch to come back to normalcy. Around 80 people lost their lives, and more than 50 lakh people were affected during the flood.
"I was in Chennai for my rehab programme. But I could feel the pain of Assam every moment. I could not dare to switch on the television set even. The agony, the torment of Assam urged me to push more," Narzary who hails from Assam’s Kokrajhar district further added.
Narzary, who was an integral part of Indian national team’s campaign in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, is currently at the ongoing preparatory camp in Goa for India’s forthcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers against Oman, and Asian champions Qatar. While India play Oman on September 5 in Guwahati, the Blue Tigers will travel to take on Qatar in Doha on September 10.
Referring to his call up to the national team camp, Narzary added:
After the injury lay-off, I've undergone the rehab programme to get myself ready for the camp. It's all about the National Team duty, which I cannot afford to compromise. I want to be in the best shape to get selected for the first match of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Incidentally, the speedy winger made his national team debut in Guwahati back in 2015 during the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 play-off qualifiers against Nepal.
Making my national team debut in front of my home crowd was a dream-come-true moment for me. We had a great result against Nepal. Later, we had had a great win against Laos in Guwahati. It is our lucky venue.
India were clubbed with Oman in the last edition of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 qualifiers Round II. In the opener, the Gulf nation pipped the Blue Tigers 2-1 in Bengaluru, before securing a 3-0 win in Muscat in the return leg. The last encounter between the two countries in a Friendly match prior to the Asian Cup ended in a 0-0 draw.
"We are aware of the past results. But it is time to look forward. The goalless draw against Oman was a motivational booster. If we can play to our potential, we can script a positive result against Oman,” said Narzary said.
