Jeakson Singh is a name on every football fans’ lips right now. The reason being the fantastic header where he timed his jump to perfection to meet a flag-kick by Sanjeev Stalin against Colombia in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
He is India’s first ever goal scorer in a FIFA event. And it wasn’t just about the goal. The manner in which he nullified Yadir Meneses of Colombia, who was billed as the next James Rodriguez, was outstanding.
However, being an integral part of Luis Norton de Matos's side since he made the cut for the India Under-17 team, the pertinent question was why the Chandigarh Football Academy (CFA) cadet was not included in the first eleven in India’s Group A fixture against USMNT?
The trust Norton and Abhishek Yadav, the India U17 Chief Operating Officer (COO), had in him was visible when he was the main player in one of the photoshoots for a kit sponsor despite being one of the late entrants into the team.
Just like Namit Deshpande was excluded against USMNT due to a knock in the left knee he suffered in Bengaluru, Jeakson was down with dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection, almost a month back.
For those unaware, dengue comes with a high fever, muscle, bone and pain joints, severe headache, loss of appetite, swollen glands and more.
The Manipur midfielder was on the road to recovery, which took approximately three weeks. In fact in the last practice game in Goa against Mauritius which India won 3-0 on September 21, Jeakson wasn't even on the bench. He was undergoing a recovery session with Russell Pinto, the team's physiotherapist.
Norton knew that he would need the services of Jeakson for the games against Colombia and Ghana, who are physically stronger sides as opposed to USMNT. The Portuguese coach didn’t wish to risk the midfielder and afforded another couple of days to the player to complete his recovery.
Norton and Yadav deserve credit for backing a player down with dengue less than a month back to be a part of the India Under-17 squad and the trust has been paid off.