He leads by example, not by voice: Meet India’s U-17 skipper Amarjit Singh Kiyam

As Bengaluru FC were focused on their AFC Cup clash against North Korean club April 25SC, Indian head coach Stephen Constantine used skipper Sunil Chhetri’s absence to name Sandesh Jhingan as the captain of his team for the tri-nation tournament against St Kitts and Mauritius.

Jhingan, who also initially trained in Chandigarh, wasn’t going to be the only player from the Union Territory to be named Indian captain.

Less than a month later, Luis Norton de Matos, in a move that can be described as democratic, asked his Under-17 charges to vote for their preferred captains ahead of a historic World Cup at home. The boys were asked to pick from four names, and were asked to name their top three choices.

Leading by example

In an overwhelming majority, 26 of the 27 boys picked Amarjit Singh Kiyam as one of their top three and the 16-year-old from Manipur was named captain. Kiyam will become the first Indian captain, male or female, to lead an Indian team out onto the pitch during a World Cup.

The No 8 of the India’s junior squad hasn’t exactly had the easiest of paths to the top. Born in Thoubal, 25 kilometers from Imphal, the capital of Manipur, Amarjit picked up the sport when he was five.

The fact that Umakanta, the eldest of the three Kiyam siblings, was already into football at the time, helped Amarjit make up his mind. Umakanta, 23, a product of the St. Stephen’s Academy in Chandigarh, has also played for the India Under-14 and Under-16 teams.

“He saw me at a very early age and decided he wanted to play the game. He started playing in village festivals when he was young and people used to ask about the boy with the short hair. I used to tell them that he was my brother,” recalls Umakanta.

According to Umakanta, Amarjit was relentless in his running when he was younger. “He can just keep on running. I remember when he was younger, he could run for 10-15 km without hardly breaking a sweat.”

Heart’s desire

Amarjit himself, in an interview to the AIFF’s website, had spoken about his modest beginnings, “My father is a farmer and during the off-season, he works as a carpenter but he never asked me to join him. He encouraged me to play football and follow my heart’s desire.”

Initially learning the game under Diven Singh, who also happens to be the father of team-mate Jeakson Singh, the two travelled to Chandigarh for the CFA trials together in 2011.

Sandeep Singh, coach at CFA, recalls a tough-as-nails midfielder who wouldn’t stop training. “He topped the skill and speed tests when he first came here. We used to put them through the grind from Monday to Saturday. Sunday was a rest day, but he would drag himself to the training ground even on that day and hone his skills.”

In fact, all the people we spoke to, mentioned one thing: Amarjit has no interests other than football. At 17, most members of the team have other hobbies such as painting or listening to music, but for Amarjit, all he can speak about whether at home, at school, or at the academy, is football. The most we got out of anybody was that he “also” loves to watch football and especially, Barcelona and Andres Iniesta.

Football-obsessed

At the Government Model High School in Sector 36, teachers recall a shy, soft-spoken introvert.

Jaswinder Kaur, class teacher for both Amarjit and Jeakson, says they have never had any trouble with him, “He would keep to himself and was well-disciplined but was above average in studies. He took some time to grasp the Hindi language when he initially arrived, but he never showed any signs of struggle outwardly.”

His entire batch from school has graduated, but Amarjit’s dedication is such that Satnam Kaur, the principal of the school, received a call from AIFF officials, requesting her to let him sit for the grade 10 exams in the upcoming year. “He told them he wanted to finish 10th and we are happy to have one of our students back.”

‘Jovial and light-hearted’

While at CFA, Amarjit starred in the Subroto Cup in 2014. Ahead of a crucial semi-final against Delhi, he injured his ankle to the extent that he couldn’t slip his boots on.

He stayed up till 4 in the morning icing his ankle so that he could play the match. Amarjit would score and CFA would win 1-0.

Pritam Meitei, a right back for the CFA Under 15’s, says Amarjit speaks to them very often. “He is very jovial and light hearted off the field. He also jokingly told me to not study and only play football.”

Having lost the captaincy on an exposure tour under Nicolai Adam, Amarjit didn’t speak of it, according to Umakanta.

“He only wants to play football and get better. He doesn’t spend his time thinking about the armband. Captaincy is just an added responsibility for him.”

At CFA, the coaches lay out the rationale as to why they think the Manipuri is captaincy material.

“He is not vocal or aggressive towards his teammates but fosters an environment of inclusivity and motivation. Others see him run himself into the ground and they will follow his example. If they lose the ball 12 times, they will retrieve it perhaps 6 times. Amarjit will do it all 12 times. He is not a leader by voice but rather a leader by example.”

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