E-Paper
From bit player to key forward, the rise of Bipin Singh
The Manipuri winger, who has mostly been employed on the left flank for most of his career, has become a regular fixture in a league-winning Mumbai City side playing in more of a floating role.
Bipin Singh was still a teenager when he was signed by Shillong Lajong, then playing in the I-League, in 2012. A conventional winger who could make good use of both his feet, Bipin could unsettle any full-back on his day. He would make his debut in the I-League as a 17-year-old during Scottish coach Desmond Bulpin’s brief time in charge of Lajong. A few weeks later, Bulpin would be sacked following a string of underwhelming results.
Over the next four-and-a-half seasons, the youngster from Manipur’s Wangoi town would gradually grow into his role under Thangboi Singto, who had taken charge of Lajong after Bulpin’s sacking, having earlier served as assistant coach of the club. “He was a raw talent; had all the ingredients to be a good player – technical ability, speed, ambidexterity, good attitude,” recalled Singto, now technical director and assistant coach at Indian Super League (ISL) club Hyderabad FC.
Bipin would move to ATK in 2017, around the same time when Singto left Lajong to join the Kerala Blasters coaching staff. A year later, the winger signed for Mumbai City, where he started showed glimpses of his talent during his second season at the club as a bit-part player. However, it wasn’t until this season, with Spaniard Sergio Lobera in charge of the club, that Bipin finally came alive.
Five goals, including a hat-trick against Odisha FC, and four assists this season only tell half the story of Bipin’s rise. The Manipuri winger, who has mostly been employed on the left flank for most of his career, has become a regular fixture in a league-winning Mumbai City side playing in more of a floating role.
He has been impactful from both flanks and has shown a tendency to drift into central areas, something that explains his increased goal involvements, while also improving the defensive side of his game. The 26-year-old has been called up to the national team camp by India head coach Igor Stimac following his successful season with Mumbai City.
“What he lacked (at Lajong) was tactical understanding of situations and making the correct decisions at the right time,” said Singto, many of whose protégés from Lajong – also including NorthEast United’s Nim Tamang, Chennaiyin’s Vishal Kaith, Hyderabad’s Chinglensana Singh, among others – are now playing in the ISL, a phenomena for which he credits Lajong and club owner Larsing Ming’s policy of promoting youth.
According to Singto, playing and training in more competitive environs, as well as Bipin’s own desire to learn and improve, have helped in his improvement. “There is an improved understanding of physical fitness (in the ISL),” he said. “He has had a better environment for learning – good coaches, better training areas, training with better players, foreign trips, getting acquainted with city life and having higher quality training and matches. These factors have escalated his overall improvement,” Singto explained.
On Saturday, Bipin will play in his first ever ISL final – against ATK Mohun Bagan in Margao. It will be a chance for him to help his side add more silverware to the league winners’ shield already clinched this season. With Stimac keeping a keen eye on the proceedings, it will also be a chance for the youngster to stake a claim for a place in the final India squad to face Oman and the UAE in international friendlies later this month.
