Pick of the lot

With over 600 school kids from round the country converging for the annual Subroto Cup football tournament in the Capital the talent scouts had their hands full. Ajit Bezbaruah profiles the four youngsters who caught the eye of the experts and also the crowd.

Aakib Javed
Govt Model High School/Chandigarh Best Player/Sub-junior
A Class VIII student, Aakib takes his footballing lessons at the Chandigarh Academy under former international Harjinder Singh and Shahji Prabhakaran. The second of the three sons of Munim Khan and Rukshana impressed the selectors in his first outing with his remarkable skills. His phenomenal ball control has amazed everybody at the Ambedkar Stadium. His coach does some value-addition boasts: Aakib can juggle the ball more than 800 times at a stretch. The 12-year-old also showed a brilliant game sense and matured thinking on field. But the coach adds a word of caution: This is his first year in football and we have to be careful. For inspiration, the Chandigarh kid follows David Beckham and like his idol wants to be a professional footballer. His reward for the impressive show: A Hero Puch and Rs 5,000 in cash. But a question crops up: Can the 12-year-old get the driving licence to drive the moped? "My bhaiya will do the driving," he says innocently.

Vanlal Ruata
Holy Heart High School/Aizwal Highest Scorer/Sub-junior
So what if Vanlal is from a remote Mizoram village, he is a David Beckham fan, thanks to satellite television. So what if his home town lacks the infrastructure, he along with his teammates have their coach Thalanga's back-yard. So what if the ground he practises is full of stones and pebbles, football is his "first love." His coach says, "Those fields are made by cutting mountains or hills. The geographic structure is such that it is difficult to have a full-dimensional football field with proper grass. These boys have been playing in whatever empty space they get." Vanlal wants to continue playing as long as he can but has no definite goals in sight. Described by his temmates as a 'naughty brat,' Vanlal is handful for his rivals on the field too.

Lalchauan Mawia
BSL High School/Bokaro Highest Scorer/Juniors
Another Mizo talent whose football talent has taken him to the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) academy at Bokaro. Expert Ranjit Thapa feels that he is even ready to make his entry in the big league. The youngster follows his passion for the game religiously. He trains round the year at Bokaro despite the long separation from his family in Aizwal. "Our academy is closed for one month during the summer vacation and it's during this time that I get to meet my family and not on any other occasions," says the 15-year-old. His coach SK Otwani points to the youngster's biggest plus: "Always hungry for goals and eager to improve." The youngster will be carrying an LML motorbike and Rs 10,000 in prizes to Bokaro for being the highest scorer in the juniors. So, was the kid elated as Santa had visited this Mizo kid a bit early? Not exactly, he regrets he will not be visiting home during Christmas as he will be busy dribbling the ball at the Academy.

Biswanath Sarkar
Apex Public School/Delhi Best Player/Juniors
This one is the true son of the soil case. Though hailing from a traditional hot bed of Indian football - Kolkata - Sarkar's raw talent was first spotted by Apex School's football manager Geoff Lyond Jonathan. The youngster hails from a poor family at Barakpur and Jonthan became the catalyst in bringing the promising youngster to Delhi, got him admitted to Apex and honed his skills. Now, Sarkar has nothing to worry about and is busy pursuing his dream to play for the 'Kolkata giants' in the future. The 16-year-old said that his parents are happy with his success. "My parents want to see me growing into a good footballer one-day," he says with a smile. His coach Suresh Kataria holds him in high esteem and feels that "Biswanath has all the ability to make into a big star but needs a little bit of tuning up."