CHENNAI: It did not take long for Roy Krishna to go from being a really happy man to a rather worried one. As he was flying home to Fiji after the end of the Indian Super League, Krishna would have been reflecting on a terrific season. The Fiji captain had won the league with ATK and had consistently been one of its best players, so much so that his single season in India had arguably propelled him into the list of the best-ever stars to grace the ISL.
Then, things took a turn for the worse. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that once Krishna and wife returned home, they had to quarantine themselves for 14 days. “During that period, there was a news report that a man who was on our flight had contracted the coronavirus and had infected other people in his family,” Krishna told this newspaper.
That period has passed though. Krishna and his wife have been given the all-clear. “Government health officials reached out to us to advise us of the same and we were monitored until the 14-day period was over. I was concerned but I’m glad we are both clear,” he said. “Ministry of health officials visited us every day at home to check our temperature and monitor in case we developed symptoms. At the end of the 14-day period, we were given the clearance.”
The forward, however, is still taking things cautiously. He tweeted on Monday that, despite his quarantine period being over, he was only going out for urgent matters.
The quarantine period did allow Krishna to re-discover passions that he rarely had time for. “I’ve always loved cooking but didn’t have the time to learn to cook my favourite dishes,” he said. “I utilised the 14 days to learn to cook and now, I’m still learning because our movements are restricted. During our quarantine period, I spent time exercising and playing football with my wife to keep fit. We also played board games and spent time video-chatting with our families regularly because we couldn’t do that often from India due to the time difference.”
Speaking of his time in India, it couldn’t have gone much better. The 32-year-old was heavily-hyped as he arrived in ATK after being one of the best players in Australia’s A-League. Bayern Munich’s Kiwi star Sarpreet Singh, who played alongside Krishna, called him one of the best in the A-League in a recent interview. With 15 goals — the most in the league alongside Chennaiyin FC’s Nerijus Valskis and Bartholomew Ogbeche of Kerala Blasters, Krishna justified all the hype.
“Winning the ISL was an amazing experience,” he said. “I only wish it (the final) was not behind closed doors, but I also understand the importance of keeping everyone safe and preventing the exposure to COVID-19. My favourite memory of the season would definitely be our home games, playing to our loving fans, especially in November in front of my family who came from Fiji. It’s a different feeling playing and winning a match, knowing your family is among a strong crowd cheering you to victory. I would also add that the second semifinal at home was a special one. To me, that felt like the final because of the 50,000 fans that cheered and supported us all the way. They were so loud that we couldn’t hear ourselves on the pitch. It was an absolute blast playing in front of fans at home.
“I’m very happy with my first season,” Krishna added. “I enjoyed my time in India and I’ve discovered a lot more about Indian culture. I appreciate its diversity. I found the standard of the league had improved a lot from the previous seasons and from what I had watched online prior to coming to India.”
So is he already thinking about coming back for another year? “At the moment due to COVID-19, everything is up in the air,” Krishna said. “I’m not sure what the future holds but I’m going to weigh all my options before deciding.”