India U19 stars Prabhsukhan, Jitendra hail Arrows

Ahead of the upcoming AFC U19 Qualifiers, Indian U19 players Prabhsukhan Singh Gill and Jitendra Singh hailed their stint in the I-League club Arrows.

Goalkeeper Gill has amassed over 2700 minutes between the sticks for All India Football Federation's (AIFF) developmental side.

"I am here because of the Indian Arrows. It's the biggest part of my career so far and it has really given us a kickstart to propel ourselves to the next level," AIFF quoted Gill as saying.

As his side prepares for the challenge ahead, Gill explained how playing for the Arrows has made him "mentally strong".

"It doesn't matter who I am facing, be it Argentina or Oman, I play without fear. Playing in the I-League has made me mentally strong," he said.

"Initially, the physicality of the league was a challenge but now I am ready for anything. Last season, we put in some really memorable performances. It was a great experience to be a part of the team," added Gill.

The Arrows, under the leadership of coach Floyd Pinto, were a major talking point of the 2018-19 I-League campaign, where they picked up 21 points.

A key member at the back for the team was Jitendra Singh, who made 32 appearances for the team over two seasons, and called the Arrows "one big family".

"It was a really special feeling being together with those set of players and we were all like one big family. I would like to thank the AIFF for this project as it helped us step into the world of professional football," said Singh.

"The Arrows project benefitted all of us immensely as we got to know how to compete with the seniors at the professional level. Even if we lost a match, we always learned something new from each game and develop ourselves," he added.

The youngster from Kolkata scripted a piece of history in the 2017-18 season, becoming the youngest scorer ever at the time in the I-League when he found the net against Shillong Lajong in a 3-0 win in Delhi.

"It is my most memorable moment with the Arrows as it was my first goal for the team and enabled us to win the match as well," Singh said.

Under senior team head coach Igor Stimac, two players from last season's Arrows batch also made their debuts for the Blue Tigers, with one of them being centre-back Narender Gahlot, who also found the net in the Intercontinental Cup 2019 against Syria.

The Indian team will go up against Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and hosts Saudi Arabia in the AFC U19 Qualifiers, which is commencing from November 6.