Richer for the experience

Urged on by his father,Kartikeya signed up for the talent hunt. He was about to attend a trial for the U-17 Uttar Pradesh team last September when he got a call that he was one among 12 footballers chosen to fly to Manchester. It was a wish come true for father and son. Having started as one among a pool of 5000 players from all across the country,he was now one of a dozen handpicked talents. And so,on February 12,2013,Kartikeya boarded a flight to spend a week at the home of his favourite football club.

“Visiting Old Trafford was the best thing to have happened in my life and the amount of learning with the best of English coaches has made me different player altogether,” says Kartikeya. “That one week,training was divided in into sessions of four each day. We had specific days and sessions assigned for speed,agility,skill and match training. Our head coach Andy (Cunningham) encouraged us a lot and made each session interesting. We used to finish one session and eagerly wait for the next. The training was world class and beyond comparison,” says Kartikeya,who plays as a winger for DPS Noida.

Since coming back from Manchester,Kartikeya is also passing on knowledge to his coaches and teammates. “My school coach Ganesh Bisht is very happy to learn from me,” he says.

When he first started,football was one of many sports that Kartikeya dabbled in. After spending nearly a year in football,the youngster quit to pick up a bat. “I felt that the scope of football in India is not so high and I should become a cricketer. I played cricket for one year and went back to football. The reason was that I found it boring and football in comparison was a high-intensity sport. I am happy to have changed my decision for good in favour of football,” says Kartikeya.

His teammate Mukul Mohindra did exactly the same thing. Mukul,having represented the Delhi U-13 cricket team in the school nationals,quit cricket citing the same reason as Kartikeya. The fast bowler became a goal keeper,who has since represented Delhi six times,in the U-14,U-15,U-16 and U-17 age groups. “I left cricket because it wasn’t interesting and also because I got selected in the SAI’s football trials,” Mukul says.

“Manchester was a trip that has given me a better understanding of football. Whatever I have learnt from the foreign coaches,I am putting to use here,” says Mukul,who plays for Delhi Veterans in the DSA Senior Division league.