Had to adapt to the speed of the game: Lalengmawia Ralte about his training stint at Lommmel SK

The
prodigious
midfielder,
Apuia
scored
his
first
goal
for
the
Islanders
in
the
2022
Durand
Cup
Final
against
Bengaluru
FC.
Although
Mumbai
City
FC
ended
the
final
on
the
wrong
side
of
a
2-1
scoreline,
the
21-year-old
midfielder
put
in
a
stellar,
all
action
display
in
Asia’s
oldest
football
tournament
and
in
the
AFC
Champions
League
earlier
this
year.

Apuia
talked
about
his
training
stint
at
Lommel
SK
with
jubilation
as
he
said,
“Training
with
Lommel
SK
in
Belgium
was
a
good
experience
for
me.
Learning
new
things
with
European
players
and
being
at
the
top
of
the
game
was
a
great
experience.
I
gained
a
lot
of
knowledge,
which
is
the
most
important
thing
for
me.”

The
Aizawl
native
described
a
day
in
the
life
of
the
players
at
Lommel
SK
as
he
said,
“Most
players
have
their
own
apartment
and
have
their
own
car.
So,
in
the
morning
everyone
arrives
at
training
around
8:00
to
8:15
and
then
have
breakfast
at
8:30.
The
training
starts
at
10
and
ends
around
11:30.
At
12
they
have
lunch
and
then
if
there
is
a
gym
session,
we
have
gym
after
lunch
and
later,
they
go
back
to
their
own
homes.”

The
training
stint
in
Belgium
at
Lommel
SK
was
an
immersive
and
an
intense
experience
for
the
young
midfielder
as
Apuia
expressed
how
fast-paced
and
gruelling
the
training
was
at
the
Islanders’ fellow
club
from
City
Football
Group.

The
midfielder
talked
about
the
main
difference
between
the
training
at
Mumbai
City
FC
and
Lommel
SK,
as
he
said,
“Training
in
Belgium
was
quite
difficult
since
the
intensity
was
high
compared
to
other
countries.
The
main
difference
was
the
intensity
but
the
training
style
was
not
so
different.”

The
young
star
went
on
to
add
what
he
learnt
from
the
high-intensity
training
in
Belgium
as
he
said,
“In
Lommel
the
intensity
was
so
high
that
you
don’t
have
much
time
on
the
ball
and
making
quick
decisions
is
a
must.
I
had
to
adapt
to
the
speed
of
the
game
as
I
was
playing
one
or
two
touches
and
making
quick
decisions.
My
training
at
Lommel
SK
has
helped
me
refine
my
decision
making
on
the
field.”

Apuia
also
recalled
how
he
fit
into
the
squad
as
he
said,
“It
was
not
too
difficult
fitting
in
the
squad,
but
you
need
some
time
to
fit
in
on
and
off
the
field.
I
didn’t
have
much
difficulty
fitting
in
though.”

The
promising
midfielder
signed
off
by
suggesting
how
Indian
footballers
can
compete
with
foreign
players,
“I
think
Indian
players
will
be
able
to
compete
with
or
against
them,
but
we
need
to
have
better
academies.
We
need
to
start
sending
kids
from
a
young
age
so
that
they
can
follow
the
style
of
Europeans
and
then
we
can
compete
with
them
at
any
level.”