Chennaiyin FC’s Gouramangi Singh did not last beyond the first 33 minutes of the match against FC Pune City on Wednesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. The centre back had to step off the field with a groin injury and it looked a little worrying as even Elano, his team’s marquee player and top goal scorer of the ISL, was the first to leave the field. Injury woes worsened for Chennai as John Stiven Mendoza, who gave the home side the opening goal, was stretchered off later in the game.However, the Manipuri defender was elated with his team’s 3-1 victory, as a result of which Chennaiyin FC toppled Atlético de Kolkata for the first time in the Hero Indian Super League standings. In an exclusive chat with indiansuperleague.com, Gouramangi hoped for continuity in his form to win the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League and also praised Mendoza, now the second highest goal scorer behind Elano. Excerpts:Gouramangi, how does it feel to be on top of the ISL standings?It feels good. It’s great because this is what we’ve been fighting for. We’ve still got five matches left, so we’re really happy and we hope we can continue this form in those matches.The game was nicely poised at 1-1. How did your team manage to change the game around?We were playing at home and before this match, we had four draws in the previous games. So our coach Marco (Materazzi) said that this game was like a final and we really need these three points.A victory without Elano and (Mikaël) Silvestre – is it a bittersweet feeling for you guys?No. They are important members of the team but when you see the score, it’s a team that won. Everyone has played their part and I think we will miss them but at the same time, the guys that came in for them did a fantastic job.With just a few games to go, are you confident of winning the inaugural championship?That’s something that we really want to do but we’re going to take it one game at a time. Today, we won and we hope to get the three points in Mumbai as well.You’ve trained with Stiven Mendoza. Do you think he has the ability step it up a notch?Yes, he can! He is young and I think he is in the right place because he is around experienced players who have played and won at the top level. He is at the right place and I’m sure he has a great future ahead of him.
