Former Indian footballers pay tribute to Laishram Manitombi Singh

Former players of the Indian football team joined in to mourn the demise of their teammate Laishram Manitombi Singh, saying he "was an absolute fighter" on the pitch.

Former players of the Indian football team joined in to mourn the demise of their teammate Laishram Mtombi Singh, saying he "was an absolute fighter" on the pitch.

Mtombi was a part of the Blue Tigers side that famously lifted the LG Cup in Vietnam, 18 years back, which was India's biggest win on the Continental stage since 1971. The former full-back, who had also represented India in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan passed away aged 39 on Sunday.

"I was really shocked to hear of his death. He was such an asset to Indian football," said his former Blue Tigers teammate and current National Team assistant coach Venkatesh Shanmugam in an official released issued by All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Defender Debjit Ghosh had captained the Singh during their days at Mohun Bagan. Expressing his surprise at the latter's untimely demise, Ghosh gave some insight as to the kind of raw talent the Mpuri was, during his early days in the National Football League.

"I was very surprised to hear that he had passed away. We could all do with some good news this year, and this was certainly not one of them. He was a dear friend off the pitch," Ghosh said.

"I had seen him put in some really good performances on the pitch. He was an absolute fighter, but more important was the consistency that he brought in. You know that if he's there on the pitch, he will give you eight out of 10 every time. An absolute commitment player," he added.

Ex-Blue Tigers winger Renedy Singh, who had played alongside Mtombi for both country and club (Mohun Bagan), had the added privilege of serving under the captainship of the full-back at the Kolkata club.

"As a captain, you have to often lead by example. Mtombi was that kind of a captain. He worked hard on the pitch, and that's how he inspired the rest of us. When you think of a tough tackler like him, you'd rather have him on your side fighting for every ball, than in the opposition ranks," said the former Blue Tigers skipper.In recent years, Mtombi had taken up coaching, and was a coach at the Mpur State League champions Anouba Imagi Mangal in the 2015-16 season. While reminiscing about the playing days, Venkatesh felt that Indian Football had lost out much with Mtombi's death, as he was coaching a number of youngsters in Mpur.

"His playing days were over, but I feel that Indian football has lost a really good coach. After completing his career, he was coaching a lot of young talented Mpuri boys," said the India assistant coach.

"Having a coach with as much international experience as he had, at that level, is important. The knowledge that he was imparting to all these young players who were coming through the ranks under him is now gone. Indian Football will miss him," he further mentioned.

( With inputs from ANI )