Cinderella Men
In their I-League debut season, Royal Wahingdoh are making heads turn. Despite limited budget, the fleet-footed boys from Shillong have taken a leap of faith and are gunning for the title. Mihir Vasavda chronicles their journey
The noise of scraping chairs and clattering cutlery inside the dining hall is interrupted by a sudden cackle. A Royal Wahingdoh player stands at the buffet counter, holds up a bhatura and turns towards his teammates behind him in the queue. He squeezes the deep fried, fluffy bread until the oil drips off it. Still not satisfied, he takes a tissue and soaks rest of the oil in it. His teammates — a North Korean and a Trinidadian — are amused as they take a break from eating boiled eggs and fruits.
As the happy bunch moves out, they glance at the morning newspaper. “Stern Wahingdoh test for Dempo,” screams the headline, accompanied by a worried-looking picture of Dempo’s Australian coach Trevor Morgan. Their smile gets wider, their walk takes on a swagger.
Seven years ago Royal Wahingdoh were languishing in the lower tier of Shillong’s local league. No one outside the periphery of the Polo Ground had heard of them. But so rapid has been their rise that, in their debut season, the tiny club from Shillong are involved in a three-way battle for the I-League title along with defending champions Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan. A win against Dempo would take the Santosh Kashyap-coached side to the top of the table. And with four more matches to go after the one against Dempo, it would be a great position to be in.
The 15-minute journey from the hotel to stadium is made in near silence. Inside the dressing room the players get into a huddle. They say a small silent prayer, back-slap each other and go their separate directions. It’s a 7pm kick-off. The playing conditions anything but ideal. The heat is unbearable. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda is a cauldron. It’s 34 degrees and humidity is close to 70 percent.
On the stands, a few hundred fans have turned up, which also includes five Afghans. They’re rooting for Dempo.
Haroon Amiri, the Afghanistan full back, is one of the Dempo’s vital cogs. There are half-a-dozen Royal Wahingdoh supporters as well, carrying their club’s flags.
The match kicks off. Dempo, once the most beautiful side to watch in domestic football, have been so frustratingly uninspiring of late that you feel this should be Wahingdoh’s game. But within minutes they are sweat-soaked. The heat and the travel have left them drained. Dempo, on the other hand, hit top gear from the start. We’re just five minutes into the game and on the pitch and in the stands, Wahingdoh are starting to feel the heat. The fans sink into their seats as their team retreats deep into their own half.
It’s going to be a long evening for the Shillong side.
* * *
A little more than a year ago, on a rather cool afternoon on April 14, 2014, they were all in a festive mood at the Wahingdoh community hall in Shillong. Three days back, Royal Wahingdoh had earned qualification to the I-League by defeating Bhawanipore FC 3-2 in the second division I-League decider.
Speakers blared out folk songs as the players danced and sang along with the fans. They were paraded through the streets of Shillong. Autographs were signed and photographs clicked.
On the stage, a politician got hold of the mike. “We are the third side from Shillong to qualify for the I-League,” he began. “Who knows, maybe we will become the first side from Shillong to win the championship!” he said, generating loud cheers from the hundreds crammed inside the tiny hall.
Who would have thought his prophecy would come true so soon?
* * *
They have made it a habit to defy the odds. Wahingdoh Sports Club had been in existence since 1946 but was amateur in its functioning. Poorly administered and lacking ambition, they were overshadowed by bigger and better managed clubs in the region, especially Shillong Lajong, Lansing SC and, of late, Rangdajied United. Battling an uncertain future, they faced the ignominy of being relegated to the lower divisions of the regional league in Shillong.
In their bid to survive and succeed, Wahingdoh community leaders decided to merge with another local club, Royals FC, in 2008. Dominic Sutnga, who owns a liquor retail business, bankrolled Royal Wahingdoh. The influx of money and proper system resulted in their fortunes turning dramatically and soon, they were an unstoppable force, winning the Shillong Premier League three times in a row.
With regional dominance secured, it was now time to shift focus to the national scene. They entered the I-League second division and in 2012, nearly made it. Wahingdoh were cruising along, starting strongly and after four matches, were level on points with ONGC. The two sides met on March 16, 2012 with the winner assured of promotion.
From the first whistle, Wahingdoh were in control. They were leading 4-1 and appeared to be cruising until deep into injury time, when their coach and former India midfielder Carlton Chapman decided to make a substitution. But even before the player could take his position on the field, Chapman turned towards the stands with head buried in his hands and helplessly looked at the management. He knew he had committed a huge error.
The AIFF rules permitted just three foreigners on field at a given time and by making the substitution, Wahingdoh now had four. “It was an innocent mistake,” a club official says. “The substitute came on just for final few minutes and did not impact the result of the match. We were already leading 4-1.” The AIFF had a different view, though. The result was reversed and Wahingdoh, who had ‘won’ the game 4-1, were instead handed a 3-0 defeat for flouting rules, ending their promotion hopes.
Back in Shillong, allegations of match fixing flew thick and fast. The players, coach and management were crucified. They were put under further pressure when they failed to qualify for I-League once again. To rub salt into their wounds, local rivals Rangdajied United won the second division.
These episodes, however, strengthened their resolve. Despite operating on a tight budget, they went on exposure trips to Goa and Germany and stuck with the same squad. Perseverance finally paid off in 2014, when the club earned promotion to the top flight.
* * *
As the celebrations died down, Jackichand Singh sat anxiously in his small apartment overlooking the hills. The striker from Manipur was picked by the club when he was 15 and had played a pivotal role in his team’s successful second division campaign. But one question haunted him and his teammates: would the management keep faith in them or splurge money in the market to buy experience.
In between training sessions and at the dinner table, the debate over their future followed. “We thought about it a lot. But I didn’t know how to face players who had helped us earn qualification if I dumped him,” Sutnga says.
“What’s the worst that could happen? We would get relegated again. Lose 4-0 or 5-0… but we’ve been down there, with our backs against the walls. We had seen worst days.”
Most of the players had been with the club since 2007. Back then, they were on a stipend ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 annually. Now, they all earn upwards of a lakh per month. To add balance to the squad, veteran midfielder Godwin Franco was taken on loan from Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters. The former Churchill Brothers, Pune and Dempo player is the only outfield player in the squad who is not from North East.
Foreign recruits were chosen carefully. Trinidad and Tobago’s Densill Theobald, who’d played all three group matches in the 2006 World Cup, was roped in as the marquee player. Liberian striker Bekay Bewar and Japan-born North Korea forward Kim Song-Yong are the other two.
Santosh Kashyap was handed the responsibility to shepherd the team. In his last assignment, he managed Wahingdoh’s city-rivals Rangdajied with some success. But managing a team whose players had little experience is a unique challenge.
It was an eclectic mix comprising Manipuris and Mizos, Khasis and Jaintias, a Goan and a Bangalorean. Throw in a North Korean, Trinidadian and Liberian to the mix and the dressing room becomes even more complex. For Kashyap, ensuring smooth communication is the primary concern. “For an outsider, the entire North East is the same. But there is so much difference… Mizos are carefree, Manipuris are aggressive yet shy, you need to balance the different cultures and personalities,” Kashyap says.
On field, however, they are all expressive and elegant. They are quick and technically gifted. “They’re a very difficult team to play against. When you’ve got players who’ve got movement, they are hard to mark and hard to play against,” Dempo coach Trevor Morgan says with grudging admiration. They made a flying start to the league, winning their first three matches. Through the course of the season, Wahingdoh have produced some shock results to find themselves in contention for the title. It’s tempting to dismiss their performances as beginners luck. But they’ve shown tremendous character to hit back stronger every time they are pushed to the brink.
* * *
Tonight, however, they are treading on a tightrope at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda. Dempo capitalise on the aggressive start and take the lead. Wahingdoh equalise at the stroke of half time, but it’s a slugfest after that.
Both teams need the three points for contrasting reasons. For Dempo, a win is crucial to avoid relegation; Wahingdoh, on the other hand, could go top of the table.
Dempo take the lead again in the 83rd minute only for Wahingdoh to equalise two minutes later. You feel it’s heading for a draw when a lapse in concentration by Wahingdoh defenders results in Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey scoring the winning goal three minutes into injury time.
It’s a mental finish that has hurt Wahingdoh’s title ambitions dearly. The humidity, the heat and the fatigue have had a telling impact. Unless they address this issue, Wahingdoh might always end up being the nearly team. The players collapse on the field. Theobald lifts Seityasen Singh, another promising youngster. Kashyap walks up to Jackichand and cajoles him. They begin the long trudge back to the dressing room.
But the smile never leaves their face. They’re sweat-soaked and sapped, but not shattered.
