Ravi was a ten years old street urchin in the “black hole of Calcutta”. During the day, he would solicit food from the local food stalls. At night he slept underneath a fly-over of a highway that spanned across the eastern part of the city. But his passion was playing football in a back alley with his friends. Without any training, Ravi was a natural striker who was able to dribble past several defenders, taking shots from acute angles to score for his team. In his dream-world, he would morph himself into Maradona of Argentina or Rossi of Italy.
One summer afternoon, Ravi’s team was playing against another team of orphans from a distant neighborhood. During the dying moment of the scoreless game, Ravi executed a sidewise flying kick that sailed past the diving goal-keeper, bringing a win for his team. While his teammates joyously surrounded him, he felt a congratulatory adult pat on his shoulder. It was Mr. Amit Sen, the football team coach-cum-referee for the nearby college. He immediately saw the potential in Ravi. After hearing his background, childless Mr. Sen and his wife decided to legally adopt Ravi and lead him through life’s journey.
Mr. Amit Sen was a legendary college football coach in Calcutta’s football scene. Many of his players went to play professional football in prestigious powerhouse clubs throughout India. Mr. Sen was a strict disciplinarian. He used to make sure that all the players under his wing, besides taking part in daily strenuous practice for long hours, followed exemplary life-styles to the junior players. Though for his higher studies, Ravi would join a different college in the city, Mr. Sen remained his mentor in developing football skills, often reminding him “A championship ring is nothing but a reminder that a human could achieve anything, if he or she decided to do so. But it also needed going beyond one’s own conception of what could be achieved.”
On graduation, Ravi was selected by Goa’s Gamma Club. He had a stellar season with highest number of goals, scored. At the end of the season, the team travelled to Calcutta to play against city’s pride East Bengal Club for the country’s best football team trophy. Both teams put forward their best efforts, heading towards a scoreless draw in regular time. That’s when the forwards of the Gamma Club developed a sudden coordinated attack at the top of the penalty box. The left winger sailed the ball in air towards Ravi. He was running late. Turning his back toward the goal-keeper, he lifted his body in the air and executed an exquisite bicycle kick, perfected over years of training. As he was landing on his back, he heard a whistle and saw the stunned goalkeeper untangling the ball from the net.
Then, he heard a second whistle from the stand. It was his joyously-teary, mischievously-smiling, and referee-uniformed dad muttering “Indeed, you went beyond your own self expectation.”
One summer afternoon, Ravi’s team was playing against another team of orphans from a distant neighborhood. During the dying moment of the scoreless game, Ravi executed a sidewise flying kick that sailed past the diving goal-keeper, bringing a win for his team. While his teammates joyously surrounded him, he felt a congratulatory adult pat on his shoulder. It was Mr. Amit Sen, the football team coach-cum-referee for the nearby college. He immediately saw the potential in Ravi. After hearing his background, childless Mr. Sen and his wife decided to legally adopt Ravi and lead him through life’s journey.
Mr. Amit Sen was a legendary college football coach in Calcutta’s football scene. Many of his players went to play professional football in prestigious powerhouse clubs throughout India. Mr. Sen was a strict disciplinarian. He used to make sure that all the players under his wing, besides taking part in daily strenuous practice for long hours, followed exemplary life-styles to the junior players. Though for his higher studies, Ravi would join a different college in the city, Mr. Sen remained his mentor in developing football skills, often reminding him “A championship ring is nothing but a reminder that a human could achieve anything, if he or she decided to do so. But it also needed going beyond one’s own conception of what could be achieved.”
On graduation, Ravi was selected by Goa’s Gamma Club. He had a stellar season with highest number of goals, scored. At the end of the season, the team travelled to Calcutta to play against city’s pride East Bengal Club for the country’s best football team trophy. Both teams put forward their best efforts, heading towards a scoreless draw in regular time. That’s when the forwards of the Gamma Club developed a sudden coordinated attack at the top of the penalty box. The left winger sailed the ball in air towards Ravi. He was running late. Turning his back toward the goal-keeper, he lifted his body in the air and executed an exquisite bicycle kick, perfected over years of training. As he was landing on his back, he heard a whistle and saw the stunned goalkeeper untangling the ball from the net.
Then, he heard a second whistle from the stand. It was his joyously-teary, mischievously-smiling, and referee-uniformed dad muttering “Indeed, you went beyond your own self expectation.”
