Shillong: Former Mohun Bagan player Chesterpaul Lyngdoh aims to bring back I-League football in Shillong with Rynith FC.
“People in Shillong love football. Clubs like Royal Wahingdoh and Rangdajied United FC played only one season in the I-League. Shillong Lajong also got relegated in 2019. Its difficult for Lajong to come back now. I hope Ryntih can qualify for the I-League so that people in Shillong can get I-League football back.” said he.
With the I-League qualifiers on the brim of commencing, Rynith FC will be making it’s debut in the league after AIFF were recommended about the club through Meghalaya Football Association.
Founded in 1998 , the Shillong based club had mainly competed in the state leagues. The club mostly hosts young talents with Chesterpaul being the most experienced of the lot. Chesterpaul had plied his trade with clubs like Pune City FC , Mohunbagan and Real Kashmir before landing in Rynith. Talking of his career and the hurdles he faced , Chesterpaul stated :
“I played for Real Kashmir where we played and trained with a lot of foreign players. With that experience, I have joined Ryntih FC. I hope to share that experience with the young players in our team. We do not have any foreigners in our team too. The coach also prefers to play short passing football from the ground, unlike what we did at Real Kashmir.”
“We used to stay far away from Shillong, almost 3 hours away. I started to play football when I was around 11 or 12 years old. When I joined SAI academy, my father had passed away. After that, in 2013, I signed with Pune FC. Later I played for FC Pune City, Churchill Brothers, Mohun Bagan and Real Kashmir.”
With all youngsters in the team and no foreigners although Rynith FC seems to be at a disadvantage against it’s counterparts , a very hopeful Chesterpaul remains confident of the glory of his boys.
“This is my first time playing in the I-League second division. My aim is to win the tournament. In Shillong, football has stopped completely, even the Shillong League is not happening. I hope the people will see us, we have almost all local players and we hope can go on to win the tournament with our young players.”
