Match Point

Football crazy Delhiites who stay up late to follow the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League have something to celebrate. 14-year-old Mehak Bahri from KR Mangalam School,New Delhi,will lend a local flavour to the semi-final encounter between Lyon and Bayern Munich on April 27 at the Stade de Gerland stadium in Lyon. Bahri has been selected to be the official Adidas ball-bearer for this encounter. The teenager will escort both club teams on to the field before the kick-off,and hand over the ball to the referees. “I am not nervous since I wasn’t expecting this,but I am excited and surprised at being chosen,” says the self-confessed football-crazy teen. Though her favourite team,Chelsea,is out of the League,Bahri says she will be cheering for Lyon. “I don’t have any favourite players from Lyon but I have made up my mind to cheer for them. I will probably get a few autographs on the field too,” she admits. Bahri was selected out of a contest among 16,000 school students in Delhi and Mumbai.