Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made his international debut last year after a long wait against Iran and has been making waves since. The 24-year-old has remained the first choice goalkeeper for national chief coach Stephen Constantine since then. On July 1, he made history by becoming first Indian player to start in a Europa League game while representing Norwegian club Stabaek.
“I never thought I would be here at this point. It was a dream come true for me to play in the Europa. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to represent India at this level,” he said ahead of training with the senior team at the Andheri Sports Complex here on Wednesday.
“My national debut against Asia’s no. 1 team (Iran) remains most memorable for me,” added Sandhu who had been training with the India team since 2010 but got his first chance with the senior team only in September last year.
Gurpreet however hasn’t played much since his Europa debut as he was injured and feels he is up for the task of getting his spot back at Stabaek. He also insisted he was fully fit for Saturday’s unternational friendly against Puerto Rico.
“Right now I am not really getting to play games in Norway. I was injured, two months ago and I was in recovery for a month and two weeks. I lost the spot (to Sayouba Mandé of Ivory Coast). It is an uphill battle to get it back but I will fight and I will do it as I have done before, I am up for the challenge. I am fully fit now and that’s why I am here,” he said.
The Mohali based lanky custodian admitted he wasn’t at par with his team mates when he first went to Norway but had made himself capable. “When I went to Norway first, I wasn’t of that level. I worked hard and polished my skills mentally and physically. I learnt from Mande to be more aggressive and offensive. He has also said he had learnt few things from me, that is good part,” he said.
Gurpreet said he now wanted to graduate to a higher level after his contract with Spataek expired next year. “For me it is very important to challenge myself, I have achieved a certain point. My aim was to play for a first team in Norway and I have done that. I now want to go to a better level and try play for bigger clubs. At the moment I do feel good about myself, feel good about the situation.”
