Indian custodian Gurpreet eyes upcoming season
March 23, 2020
After winning his second consecutive Golden Glove award in the Indian Super League (ISL), Chandigarh’s Gurpreet Singh is now taking a break from the sport to spend some time with his family.
Gurpreet, a recipient of the Arjuna Award, was adjudged the best goalkeeper for keeping 11 clean sheets in the ISL —two more than ATK’s Arindam Bhattacharja — and for making 49 saves across 19 matches while playing for Bengaluru FC.
Gurpreet will be Bengaluru’s guardian between the goalposts for at least another four years as he signed a five-year contract with the club at the start of the 2018-19 campaign. With his stellar performances in goal, the Blues managed to win the ISL (2018-19) in their second attempt, as Gurpreet was given the Golden Glove award.
“I am humbled to have received this award the second time. It means a lot and it couldn’t have been possible to achieve this without the hard work and sacrifice of my teammates,” said Gurpreet.
He was also awarded the Player’s Player of the Year at Bengaluru FC. “It’s a double delight for me. Though our team did not win the title, I am happy after giving best for my team,” he said. A former student of St Stephen’s School (Sector 45), Gurpreet also visited his alma mater during the break. “It’s always nice to come back home and meet family and spend some time with them -especially as I usually remain busy in football,” said Gurpreet. “Also, I go back to St Stephen’s School, where it all began for me, to meet the people who have been a part of my life for the past over 20 years.”
The Indian national goalkeeper said that he is currently not planning anything for the future, and is trying to remain healthy in these difficult times. “Regarding my future, I think I would like to be safe and healthy environment due to the outbreak of coronavirus,” said Gurpreet, who is the only Indian to have appeared in the Europa League, before joining Bengaluru from Norwegian side Stabaek FC ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.
“I would urge everyone to follow instructions of their respective governments all across the world,” he said. Meanwhile, his former coach Surinder Singh also appreciated the custodian’s efforts to reach out to local trainees whenever he gets time to visit in Chandigarh.
“He always visits his former school whenever he comes to Chandigarh. He not only spends some time with the local trainees but also takes out some time to interact with his former teachers,” said Surinder.
