The pre-quarterfinal,quarter-final and at best the semi-final (last year) finishes became history when the Sriram School emerged champions of the Haryana leg of the pre Subroto Cup. The subsequent qualification for the main round of the event was no less historic though. They became the first team from Gurgaon to qualify for the international school tournament. Coach Keshav Dutts nine-year wait was finally over and the memories of the last four attempts passed his mind quickly. Its been a very long association. I have been working here for nine years and this is the best result I could have asked for. Since 2005 we were either stumbling at the pre-quarters or quarters. Last years was our closest chance when we finished semi-finalists, Dutt says,adding,These boys were in class IV-V when I started training them. Im thankful to them that they didnt change school and stuck to their job here. This sincerity wasnt there in the previous teams. Earlier,football was like a past time but now we have 18 dedicated footballers who practice thrice a week without a miss. A big point for this team is that the seniormost player is not the captain. In fact,Arjun (Dutt) was made the captain after insistence from his seniors. He has played three qualification rounds and is the most experienced. Class X student Aryaman Anand calls it the biggest moment for his school team,of which hes been a part of for the last six years. He says the hurdles were steeper this time. This is huge. We had to play against Hissar,the three-time Haryana state school champions. The grounds where we played the matches were more than double the size of the ground we practice on and most of the teams were physically stronger. This is one thing we have to work on going into the main round, Anand says. Heading towards their biggest ever platform,the midfielder is yet to set himself a target. The football will be of the highest quality. This is our biggest gain. Being the first time going for the title will be overambitious for us. It will depend on how we play and well benefit from every match, he says. Well give it allUnlike Anand,skipper Arjun Dutt and his coach have set their sights on at least a knockout round finish. We will definitely give it all. Its a big stage for the boys to make a mark and this is their chance. We will take it match by match but a last-two finish will be what well are aiming at. We are good enough on technical grounds but lagging physically. Match practice wouldnt be an issue as we will play a couple of tournaments before the Subroto Cup but the stress training sessions have to be made more rigorous, Dutt says.
