After the history was made at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday, winning I-league and earning qualification for the ISL with a 2-1 victory against spirited Shillong Lajong, Andrey Chernyshov, head coach of Mohammedan Sporting was undoubtedly exhausted, but jubilant. 

In a post-match conversation with local media, the Russian coach said, “This is a historic moment for the club. We have had to fight for this position all season long and now have finally achieved the status of champions.”

He continued, “My players deserve all the credit. They are the ones who have fought hard every minute of the league. It was not an easy title to win by any stretch of the imagination. 

I feel excited to have worked with this bunch of boys, and the club has supported us in such a good way. Now we are reaping the rewards of all the hard work.” 

The Russian coach who was once with Mohammedan Sporting also a couple of years ago admitted, “This is the greatest day of my life. I have won other trophies as a player, but this is my best win as a coach.” 

Mohammedan Sporting goalkeeper Padam Chettri played an integral role for his club, amassing eight clean sheets in the season. The Mohammedan number one expressed the team’s desire to get the job done.

"We are just so happy that we won the league and the game today. Lajong was very difficult to play against, but we showed how strong we are. We shoed our strength also in the previous matches,” he said. 

Padam thanked the fans of Mohammedan Sporting as well as his family for their support throughout the season.