CURATE (JAPAN). It’s the kind of visit that makes people stop and think, providing a deeply moving look at one of humanity’s darkest chapters.A group of young Indian footballers, who are here for the Reliance Football Development League (RFDL) tour of Japan, were left with a sobering experience after visiting 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, 1945, and “Fat Man” on Nagasaki three days later — completely destroying both cities and killing hundreds of thousands of people. “When I was a student, I read about this tragedy on a grand scale. But now seeing the pictures here and feeling how the people 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 on how Japan was able to get back on its feet despite going through such a destruction of humanity and become a world power again. This is an important lesson from a sporting perspective as well. No matter how big the fall is, if you have the desire and strong will, no one can stop you from getting up and going again in my places to establish my message yourself.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 on the museum tour.“Behind every picture in the museum, behind every object displayed there, there is a story and a reminder of how life can change in a second,” said Punjab FC coach Praveen. According to him, such large-scale destruction due to nuclear weapons should always be avoided.“We learned about the darker chapters of history through this visit. War cannot be the solution to our problems and we must live in a peaceful coexistence,” he added. The three Indian youth teams, who finished in the top three of the RFDL 2025-2026, have already played two matches each against the Japanese U-18 sides.Their final round matches are on Monday. (The writer of the RFDL invitation is in Japan.)