Purohit's modest success can encourage lots of kids

Young and fun loving, 15-year-old Praneet Purohit is your boy next door. But after his stint with an All-India team in Inter Milan during a month-long camp, Purohit has now become special in his locality. It was a rare honour for this Ghaziabad youngster to step on the famous stadium at San Siro in Milan last September, where he got access to unparalleled training programmes under some well known coaches.

A resident of Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, he became a footballer by choice.

In fact, football drew him close after he watched the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He was just eight then.

First he started playing in school. Then he started kicking around in the park and wherever he found an open space. Later, for better professional training, he got himself enrolled at Young Stars Football Academy at Vaishali, which, according to him, has “shown him the right direction”.

“When I was in Class 3 in 2006 my school’s (Father Agnel in Noida) football coach trained me for a couple of months. After he left the school in 2007, we didn’t have a coach for a long time. It was then my father decided to put me in YSFA,” said Purohit.

“I used to play at the parks and in Noida Stadium but couldn’t found a place where I could get professional coaching and the right kind of guidance,” he explained.

“It was then when I met Yusuf sir in my school. He introduced me to YSFA in 2009 and since then I am a part of the academy where the coaches and administrators have encouraged me in a big way.”

There is one more interesting fact about Purohit. At just 14, he was selected to play for Delhi’s top club, City Football Club, in the 1st Division League last year along with other YSFA cadets who were U-17 players. Interestingly, City FC became 1st Division champions and got promoted to the Senior Division in April last year.

“It was one my biggest achievements so far. At this age, playing for a professional club was indeed something like an honour for me. It had boosted my confidence to a great extent,” said the youngster, who plays as a left-back.

Success followed soon after his stint with City FC. In a month-long all-India school competition held early this year, Purohit was selected by well-know past football greats, including 1960 Olympian Syed Shahid Hakeem, former East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting star striker Jamshed Nassiri, and Premnath Phillips.

“He has got bundle of energy and a keenness to learn. Particularly, playing at such a young age and among the seniors in the club itself is a big challenge. But he has picked up fast,” explained YSFA and former City Club coach Yusuf, who spotted Purohit four years back.

Also, when most parents would force their kids to avoid sports, Purohit was lucky. His parents were behind him and provided him the support he needed.

“They told me to play football but also explained me the importance of education. I think, I’ve balanced both the subjects well,” added Purohit.