KURATE (JAPAN): It’s the kind of visit that makes people pause and ponder, offering a deeply moving glimpse into one of humankind’s darkest chapters.A group of young Indian footballers, who are here for the Reliance Football Development League (RFDL)’s exposure trip to Japan, were left with a sobering experience after paying a visit to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum on Saturday. During the final days of World War II, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan — “Little Boy” on Hiroshima on August 6 in 1945, and “Fat Man” on Nagasaki three days later — completely destroying the two cities and killing hundreds of thousands of people. “When I was a student, I had read about this tragedy of the grandest scale. But now seeing the pictures here and feeling how humanity suffered on a day like this has left me speechless,” FC Goa youth team coach Israil Gurung told TOI.“At the same time, the museum also offers a timely education in how Japan has managed to get back on their feet despite having undergone such a destruction of humankind and become a world power again. This is an important lesson from a sporting perspective as well. However big the fall is, if you have desire and strong will-power, nobody can stop you from bouncing back and re-establishing yourself. This is the message I’ve given to my players while visiting the place,” remarked Gurung, a former winger and an I-League winner with Churchill Brothers.Players from Bengaluru FC Reserves under Renedy Singh and Punjab FC youth team under Praveen Kumar also joined their FC Goa counterparts in the museum tour.“Behind every photograph in the museum, behind every item displayed there, there’s a story and a reminder how life could be changed in a matter of seconds,” Punjab FC coach Praveen said. According to him, such large-scale destruction caused by nuclear weapons should always be avoided.“We come to know about the darker chapters of history through this visit. War can’t be the solution to our problems and we must live in a peaceful coexistence,” he added. The three Indian youth teams, who have finished in the top three of the RFDL 2025-2026, have already played two games each against Japanese U-18 sides.Their last-round matches are on Monday. (The writer is in Japan on RFDL’s invitation.)
