Wednesday, January 20, 2010

1st Kashmiri to join football academy outside

Srinagar, Jan 15: ‘I have seen this boy couple of years ago when he was training with Iqbal Sports. He was performing some skills which really surprised me and my friends. We were eager to see him perform football skills which we had never expected from any ordinary kid’With football increasing in popularity in the State, kids here sweat it out in playing fields to hone their skills to make it big.After Valley’s soccer stars, Mehraj-Ud-din Wadoo, and Ishfaq Ahmad made State proud and earned fame, the kids, here, miss no opportunity to attend the coaching camps and participate in different tournaments. However, due to the minimal infrastructure available in Kashmir, besides harsh winter, the young kids have started to think out of the box solution to realize their dreams.
Mohammad Danish, 10, started playing football two years ago and now he wants to move outside the State to pursue football as a his career.After two years, Danish is now a skillful footballer. With the parental support and strong backing from coaches here in the Valley, Danish is all set to join one of the India’s leading football academy to carve out a niche for himself in the world of football. Football Players Welfare Association (FPWA) will felicitate Danish join the academy.FPWA is also planning to send some more budding players to leading football academies of the India.“Danish is a talented player. We’ll register him in one of the football academies outside the Sate in a couple of months. We are in constant touch with some of the academies which will adopt these players,” said Vice-president FPWA, Sajid Dar.The skills of this budding soccer player have been appreciated by none other than Valley’s star attraction and international footballer, Mehraj-ud-din Wadoo, who considers Danish as the future asset for the State.“I have seen this boy couple of years ago when he was training with Iqbal Sports. He was performing some skills which really surprised me and my friends. We were eager to see him perform football skills which we had never expected from any ordinary kid,” said Wadoo who is also president FPWA.Wadoo is happy to see Kashmiri kids aiming high.“This is really heartening to learn the budding players taking football on professionally lines. We will make ever efforts to adjust the young players in the football academies’,” said East Bangal stopper over phone from Kolkatta.On Danish’s prospects Wadoo said he has a talent to emerge as a great footballer not only for the State but for the country.The star footballer said that he gauged Danish’s talent two year ago that he is a born footballer.“I told my friends that this boy would be a star one day. He is a special talent and gifted. He should get an opportunity to prove his mettle,” said the East Bangal stopper.Danish may not know what it means to move out of the State leaving family behind at such a young age but he has a backing of his coaches which encourages his parents for this brave move.“I want to see my son become a great footballer and that dream seems to be working,” says his father Khazir Mohammad who feels proud of his 10 year old son Danish. “I will make every effort to make him a successful footballer,” says Khazir Mohammad.Danish joined Iqbal Sports when he was eight years old and his father would take him to Sri Pratap College Ground early in the morning for practice session.Iqbal Sports Coach, Sajid Dar, said his father’s determination and Danish’s hard work made it possible.“I have coached him personally and he is a quick learner. He has the natural ability to play football and this instinct would make him reach great heights,” said Dar.Danish is willing to go anyplace in the world to only play football during his life.“I want to join the academy. I want to play football only,” says Danish.For two year he has been playing football and hasn’t taken any rest even in harsh winter.Winter keeps most of the footballers away from the field but he goes to the playground and practices even without any partner.“This is very hard to be in bare minimum cloths in winter and play football. I move to Polo Ground every day in extreme cold also and practice even if there is no one in the field. I practice alone without any partner,” says Danish.Dar is also surprised to see his passion of football which brings him to the ground in this harsh winter.“The kids of his age don’t play in this cold. He covers a lot of distance and reaches the ground to continue honing his skills,” says his coach Dar.

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