Youngsters sign new two-year deals till 2021-22 season

Hyderabad: Indian Super League side Hyderabad FC continued their preparations for the upcoming season handing out contract extensions to attacking midfielder Abhisek Halder and defender Dimple Bhagat. The duo penned two-year extensions committing with the Telangana-based side till the end of the 2021-22 season, the club announced on Saturday.

Twenty-year-old Abhisek who enjoys playing in attack featured eight times for Hyderabad this season making three starts while bagging one assist. The Kolkata-born youngster who played a bit-part role in the previous season for his last club, has developed a lot during the 2019-20 season which in fact was his personal best in his professional career so far. He also turned out for the reserve side in the 2nd Division League scoring one goal in two appearances.

“Although I have played in the I-League and ISL before, this year was a massive learning experience for me. I want to improve and develop further and give my very best for Hyderabad. I got to play more games but I also realized how much competition is there in every squad and how hard we must keep working. It starts with being focused in training and working on the new philosophy which we have now with Albert Roca and Xavi Gurri,” said Abhisek after completing formalities.

Meanwhile, twenty-one-year-old Dimple operates as a left-back and made his long-awaited ISL debut against Odisha FC in January and followed it up with another appearance against Bengaluru FC towards the end of the campaign. A minor injury kept him out of the final games of the season, but the Punjabi lad is eager to get back to the field.

“I am very happy to have extended my stay with Hyderabad. The club has shown faith in my ability and I want to keep working hard and repay that. It was a great experience to finally make my debut in the ISL, but it’s going to get tougher as we move ahead. I’m looking forward to the new season and intend to work even harder as we get into the pre-season,” said Dimple.

The duo joins Adil Khan, Mohammad Yasir, Asish Rai, and Nikhil Poojary who have also extended their stay with Hyderabad FC.