I believe my present is the best phase: Paul

 

I want to dedicate this to my family -- my mom, my dad, my brother, sister, my wife and my Coach Debashish Mukherjee (who is Subrata’s Father in law). The sacrifices which he has made for me and the manner he nurtured me when I needed it the most has helped me to reach this level. I can never forget all of their support.

I also need to thank all my Coaches, my teammates, both at the Club and International level, AIFF and the Football fraternity in whole for standing by me all throughout.


What does this Award mean to you?


It means a lot. If you look down the list of who has won an Arjuna Award in all sporting disciplines since its inception in 1961, you are bound to get inspired. It is a huge honour for me.


The fact that I am the 24th Indian Footballer to have won the Award is immensely special. But no sportsperson ever takes the field thinking of winning an Award. But yeah, it is a motivation to do better.


Does this Award change you as a person?


Personally, I can’t change my character. So it doesn’t change me as a person.


I only hope this will inspire young kids to take up Football as their hobby. If young kids continue with the sport, the supply line will increase and the level is bound to be elevated as well.

I also hope that the sacrifices of Footballers get rewarded every year in the Arjuna Award list.

 
How do you look back at your career?
 
I believe in the present and never look back or try to pre-empt the future. At the moment I am totally focused on India’s International Friendly against Puerto Rico. The target is to win the match and improve on our FIFA Rankings. It is a very important match for us. The match is to be played in Mumbai. I have been told that this is the first Official International match for India in Mumbai since 1955. It will be huge.


What has been the biggest moment of your career?

 
I feel my present is the best moment of my career. I want to live and play and enjoy playing. There is no alternative to hard work. ‘Work hard. Never care about results,’ I believe in Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy. The day I retire from Football, I will prefer to take a walk down the walked path and reflect back on my career.
 

Image: AIFF Media