CHENNAI: Malsawmfela must have been looking on in envy as Aizawl went about their debut I-League season. A lot of the players in the team were people he grew up playing alongside. And if the stars had been aligned right, Malsawmfela would have been there too, taking on the likes of East Bengal and Bengaluru FC. But instead the 24-year-old, once dubbed one of the most promising players to come out of Mizoram, was playing in Chennai’s senior division.
Born into a family filled with footballers — current FPAI Indian Player of the Year and Chennaiyin FC striker Jeje Lalpekhlua is a first cousin — Malsawmfela (in pic) did not have to look far for inspiration. Initially things were going well, with the young Mizo getting called up to the India U-16 team that toured the United States and England in 2008. Nobody shone brighter than Malsawmfela, his goals coming against the likes of Manchester United and Everton. Perhaps understandably, those memories are bittersweet for him. “It was a good experience,” he says. Then disaster struck. Malsawmfela needs just two sentences to sum up the rest of his career. “I got injured when I was 18. I have never been able to fully recover since then.”
Stints with Pailan Arrows — the All India Football Federation’s developmental team — and Aizawl FC followed, but Malsawmfela’s graph was going downhill. He now plays for Madras Sporting Union (MSU), surely not a team that he would’ve ever dreamed of playing for.
MSU is tottering in the mid table, but have become crowd-favourites thanks to Malsawmfela’s exploits. The Mizo’s mind though is nowhere near Chennai. His kids are ill and he cannot wait to go back home.
“I can’t wait to meet them. I am not able to concentrate mentally. I have spoken with the coach. He has promised to let me go home few days prior to the completion of the league. He is very helpful and understanding like that,” he says.
A comeback to the dizzy heights that he once occupied is not very realistic and Malsawmfela is pragmatic. “I will give my best,” he says. “I will definitely go back if I get a call up. But my physical fitness is a matter of concern and I need some time.”