For him, this is the golden era of Indian football. And Indian defender Anwar Ali is very happy to be playing in this golden era. Last Tuesday, a historic moment was created in Indian football when they qualified for the main stage of the Asian Cup for the second consecutive time. Never before has India been able to participate in Asia's biggest international tournament.

India earned that honor by defeating Hong Kong, and the first goal in India's 4-0 victory was scored by Anwar, who was once banned from professional football by the All India Football Federation due to his physical condition.

Having overcome that obstacle, he is now a new star. And is also getting success on the field for the country. Anwar recently showed excellent performance in defense in the Asian Cup qualifiers. His team did not concede more than one goal in the entire tournament.

"I am young now and want to be part of the golden era of Indian football. I am very happy with the way we have played in the last few matches," Anwar told the all-India English daily 'The Times of India'.

The star player from Adamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, scored a goal in the first minute of the match against Hong Kong in the last match, ahead of Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh and Ishan Pandita. Anwar also played in three friendlies for the Indian team against Bahrain, Belarus and Jordan before the Asian Cup qualifiers.

After the match that day, he said, "I never thought I would be able to score a goal for my country. It feels like a dream. To be in a team with such a good footballer? I can't imagine it."

Anwar, who hails from Adampur, Punjab, suffered a major setback early in his football career. Doctors told him that some parts of his heart wall were a little thick, causing problems with blood circulation in his heart. In medical terms, this disease is called hypertrophic myocardiopathy. So the doctors told the 21-year-old boy that he would never play football again.

The All India Football Federation's medical committee also ordered him to retire from professional football, as former Cameroon star Marc Vivian Foe died of a heart attack during the semi-final of the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2003 due to the same problem.

But Anwar decided to continue playing football on a personal note. What happened in his life four years later would not be wrong to call it unimaginable. He joined FC Goa in the 2021-22 season. He performed brilliantly there. After that, India's Croatian coach Igor Stimac called him up for the national team. The rest was like a dream.

Another Indian scorer in the last match, Sahal Abdul Samad, is now looking towards the domestic football of the country. According to him, playing in the Durand Cup and Hero ISL will help them prepare a lot for the main stage of the Asian Cup. In this context, he said, "We all need to play matches. The longer the season, the better prepared the players will be. This will help us stay in rhythm."

In a live chat on Hero ISL on Twitter, Kerala Blasters assistant coach and former footballer Ishfaq Ahmed said, "The heights they have reached after the team management reposed faith in Jackson Singh, Akash Mishra, Roshan Singh, it is understood that an important part of the Indian team is going to be built with youngsters. That is why after Ishan Pandita scored against Hong Kong, Sunil Chhetri was also seen jumping out of the dugout. This shows what their team spirit is like now."