I-League: Arrows need to be mentally, physically strong, says Shanmugam Venkatesh

With the I-League all set to commence, head coach of Indian Arrows, Shanmugam Venkatesh feels the extra practice time in Bhubaneswar has been an added advantage to the squad.

The I-League is all set being from March 3, 2022, in Kolkata and the former Indian National Team captain spoke at length about the composition of the squad.

"We didn't get a break since the I-League was rescheduled. From Kolkata, we moved to Bhubaneswar wherein the hospitality and support at Odisha Sports made us feel safe at home, and comfortable. We were actually in a catch-22 situation. Eventually, with the outbreak of cases we felt it best to avoid the long travel back to our respective homes, and stayed back in Bhubaneswar. And now when we look back, we are at an advantage," said the head coach as per an official AIFF release.

"Everyone at that time was tense about the situation back home. It was mentally taxing for everyone - the boys, the support staff, and the technical staff. We made the optimum use of technology in our efforts to be in touch with our family members. We understood that travelling back home may have endangered our loved ones more, exposing them to the disease, while exposing ourselves at the same time. Hence, we stuck together as one unit. The announcement of the commencement of the HIL has spurred all on - it was something which we were looking forward to," he added.

Shanmugam further said that the bio-bubble has been really cruel towards all the players but they have to adjust to move forward together.

"We are to get into the bio bubble in Kolkata soon, and life in the quarantine is tough. But is there an option? Either we have to go through it, or leave it. Life for a footballer is extremely cruel, and we have to adjust, and move forward together. We are extremely grateful that live football is being played under such tough circumstances," said Shanmugam.

"The composition can be broken into three parts. We have roped in some boys from the U16 National side which had qualified for the AFC U16 Championship (which eventually got cancelled owing to the pandemic). We have also retained a major chunk of last year's squad, and have also inducted some players from trials, while some have been brought in on loan. We look stronger than what we were last season," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )