Kotal embraces ‘notes’ to 'minimise mistakes'

It was from his U-19 days at the AIFF Centre in Goa that Pritam Kotal developed the habit of scribbling down every practice session in his personal diary.

“I started it as I wanted to minimise my mistakes – not just the practise sessions, but also the matches I played,” Kotal opened up during a live chat with AIFF TV. “In fact, I still have the habit of jotting it down. And why not?”

"It is a simple exercise but an effective one. Everyone makes mistakes on the field and to minimise our mistakes, we need to train hard. After every training session, I take notes. Before heading to the field on the next day I check on the points so that I don't repeat it again. There's no rocket science behind this, but this helps me always. I follow it even today,” he smiled.

"I was a defensive midfielder initially but coach Colm Toal switched me to the right wing-back position. The approaches of both positions are entirely different. It was a tough phase for me to get accustomed to the new position. That’s when my notebook helped me a lot."

"Before heading to the training ground, I used to run through my mistakes from the previous training session. As a defensive midfielder, I did not focus on attacking. But as a wing-back, I'm supposed to contribute to the attacking system too. I had to learn about timings, positioning during defence and a lot and my notes helped me immensely during those struggling days," Kotal admitted.

Kotal’s penchant for meditation has earned him the nickname of ‘Meditation Kotal’ in the national team, and his obsession for training has also simultaneously earned him the nickname of ‘Train Kotal,’ which the defender, with a laugh, didn’t deny.

In fact, it was Sandesh Jhingan who first spotted Kotal sitting in front of a candle flame and staring at it without almost a blink as part of his meditation schedule.

“Meditation has helped me a lot,” he added. “I have been staring at the candle flame for long – ever since my U-19 days. Football is all about focus and concentration. As a defender, I can't afford to lose my concentration even for a second. Here comes the role of meditation which has helped me stay calm and composed even during a tough face-off or a not-so-well training session. I would suggest every young footballer practice meditation to improve the concentration level," Kotal explained. “I do it even today.”

Kotal has so far represented India in 36 International matches and 10 age-group Internationals. And though he admitted that the loss to Bahrain in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 was heartbreaking, he also labelled is as a “new beginning.”

“We have grown stronger since that day. Life for a footballer is full of such moments. It was a lesson learnt, and it marked a new beginning for all of us. It was so near yet so far. That has taught the Blue Tigers how to improve, when to improve. And we are improving with every given day.”