Interview with Uttam Rai: “I wouldn’t have been anything without the Subroto Cup”

Uttam Rai is grateful to the Subroto Cup for his meteoric rise

The opening ceremony of the 56th edition of the Subroto Cup culminated a few hours back in Delhi’s Ambedkar Stadium and the chief guest, unlike any other year, was a product of the tournament himself. It’s in fact not even been 5 years since the prodigal Uttam Rai played in the tournament himself.

As SportsKeeda caught up with him, Rai, now a professional at Goa’s Dempo FC was reminiscent of the time he spent playing at the Subroto Academy in Palam, “You see, when I first came here I was extremely young. In fact I had never even dreamt of becoming professional football.

”But then I was selected by the academy here and allowed to come and train with really experienced coaches and that helped my game a lot.”

The Sikkim youngster, all of 19 now, toured Europe as part of the Subroto XI in 2009 and also had a 3-year stint at the IMG Soccer Academy in Florida. Talking about those exposure trips, he mentioned, “It was incredible to be bestowed with trust and confidence that I could perform at the international level. For me, it was an unbelievable jump and as happy as I am now, I was really doubtful of how it will pan out then.”

“The time that I spent in the US also helped me realize that I wasn’t physically adept to be an out an out striker. Because of my diminutive physique it perhaps will be a better idea if I play behind the striker instead of playing right up front. You see I am more of a traditional no. 10 but I am trying to adjust because of my stature.”

Maintaining his ambition is to eventually represent the country, Rai conceded that the journey, which has been extremely rewarding so far, is all because of the tournament that he joyously attended today. “I wouldn’t have been anything without Subroto,” he signed off!