Jamshedpur FC created history as they won the Indian Super League winner’s Shield and in their journey to greatness they have developed several players into stars. The latest of them all has to be Bengal born winger Ritwik Das who scored the goal against ATK Mohun Bagan in the penultimate match to hand the Shield to the Men of Steel.
It has been a tough road for Ritwik to come this far as he made his name back in the Mohun Bagan academy and gradually went up the ladder. He featured for Real Kashmir in the I-League a few seasons ago. He then made his Indian Super League debut with the Kerala Blasters and finally joined Jamshedpur FC this summer to get more gametime.
Speaking after the match, Ritwik added how it has always been a dream of his to win the Shield and to do it by him scoring a goal was a special feeling for him.
“It feels great. It has been a dream for me since the beginning of the season to win this. It is amazing and it feels great to score in such an important match and against such a great team in ATK Mohun Bagan, they have great players. It is a great feeling for me,” Ritwik said at the post match interview.
The 25-year-old winger has scored four goals and has also mustered an assist in 15 appearances till now. So speaking about his golden form, Ritwik credits his head coach, Owen Coyle completely. He highlights how the Scotsman has instilled confidence in his players and that allows them to give their best on the pitch.
“He (Owen Coyle) is a very demanding coach. He demands a lot from each and every player. He gives confidence for each and every player to be at their best level and it only pushes us to strive for more, be in a good shape, and give a good performance,” Ritwik revealed.
Speaking on the overall feeling amongst the players and the club, Ritwik highlights how reaching the semifinals was the goal this season but they exceeded it by winning the Shield and now the aim is clear to achieve even more.
“It is the first time Jamshedpur FC qualified for the ISL Semi-Finals. It was also the first time we were fighting for the League Shield and we won it. It means a lot to me and each and every player,” he added.
It will be interesting to see how Jamshedpur FC fares up against Kerala Blasters in the semifinals. The first leg between the two sides is on 11th March followed by the second leg on March 15.
