Mohammed Khalid's left arm ends at his elbow. His disability,however,didn't stop him from playing football. Khalid never thought that kicking the ball around for fun would one day earn him a sports-quota job with the Central Excise. It was only when he was in Class XII did Khalid give the sport a serious thought. He joined the Delhi-based Moonlight Club. His passion for the sport saw him work hard. Soon he was considered good enough to captain the Delhi Under-21 team,which played the nationals in Goa. "I never allowed my disability to come in the way of pursing my football dreams. Rather,it made me even more determined to work twice as hard ," Khalid said on Wednesday. His performance at the nationals earned him a call from the Zakir Hussain College. Playing for four years at the university level helped Khalid fine tune his skills. In 1995,he got his first big break with Kolkata-based club Mohammedan Sporting. Thirty-five-year-old Khalid was at the Ambedkar Stadium on Wednesday to play for Moonlight in the A-Division football league. "I have been transferred to Haryana but I play here in Delhi for my club. I consider it my duty to continue to play for my club as it gave me lots of opportunities when I was younger. We seniors owe it to the club," Khalid said. Now,he wants to start a football academy. "I don't think we have enough coaching facilities in Delhi. I have represented Delhi in the Santosh Trophy on six occasions. Our players lack skill compared to the players from Goa and West Bengal," Khalid said. "I hope I can contribute towards making our players more skillful." IAF thrash Uttaranchal HeroesIAF Palam trounced Uttaranchal Heroes 5-0 in the DSA A division match at the Ambedkar Stadium. Abu Naved and Arun Kumar scored a brace each,while Ajay Kumar too found the net. In another match Ashoka FC came back from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against the Moonlight Club,with the help of a late goal from Sriram. Moonlight opened their account in the 36th minute thanks to Tariqs effort.
