It took some time for these little footballers from here to get a feel of the grassy turf. And, once they did, there was no turning back.
The under-14 stars, with the crowd by its side, kept their cool to do India proud in the 79th anniversary celebration football tournament, organised by the Selangor Indian Sports Council, in Malaysia last week.
It was their maiden visit to the Malay kingdom. And, the children, numbering 52, made the best use of the opportunity that came their way.
They were split into under-12, and under-14 teams. They quickly got into business from the very first day.
The exhibition match at the start against the Royal Club (Malaysia) tested them to some extent.
The Royal Club had players from Malaysia and China but that did not deter the tiny stars from India.
“It was a real experience for these children,” said D. Saravanan of Coimbatore-based First Kick School of Soccer Academy.
“Our children were quite good with their skills but lacked the sting initially. Probably, they were getting used to the ground condition. But, they quickly got to their feet and gave the opponents a stiff fight,” he added.
After exhibiting their skills, they got into serious business the next day. The under-12 children, split into India ‘A,’ and India ‘B’ teams, fought hard but lost both the matches. “That did not matter for them. They were happy with their show,” said Saravanan.
The icing in the cake was that two of the under-12 players — A.S. Jaishnu Krishna and D. Tarun Kumar — took home the ‘Best Player’ and ‘Best Defender’ awards.
The under-14 children, split likewise, however did not disappoint.
While India B’ team lost its way, the ‘A’ team sparkled bright as never before. It came up trumps 5-2 during the tiebreaker.
It was a see-saw battle, and the teams finished the regulation time at two-all. In the tiebreaker, the Indian side proved a tough nut to crack. T. Lokesh Khanna, and N. Nishith were rewarded with the ‘Best Goalie’ and ‘Best Striker’ awards for their efforts. The latter scored both the field goals.
The children enjoyed every bit of their stay in Malaysia. “It was a great fun,” said Jaishnu, the youngest among the lot.
“It was a good exposure and we are grateful to our coaches. We were a bit nervous at the start,” quickly added Nishith.
“We did not find it boring even a wee bit. We were playing in grass. We don’t get to play the same here,” said S. Aryan.
S. Dharrshan, who played the midfielder role, was thrilled with the new experience.
“We want to have many more tours like this.”
V. Shivangi, the little girl in the team, was quite excited playing with the boys. “They dribbled faster than me but I enjoyed playing with them. It helps me in improving the game.”
“We gave a tough fight and we had the better share of the ball in the middle,” said both Sanju Xavier and M. Tejash.
