Inspiration
11-year-old Odisha slum kid gets selected to train at Bayern Munich academy.
Chandan Nayak who lives in the Sabar Sahi slum is one of the lucky few who will attend an all-expenses-paid junior football camp in Munich. His coach Jayadev Mahapatra feels that this coaching will take him to a different level altogether. Jayadev also feels that Chandan can be an inspiration to all
They say that every person on this planet is born for a purpose and the sooner we find it the better the lives become. While some people spend their lives finding their reason for being, an 11-year-old wonder boy from the most impoverished areas of Bhubaneswar has just found his calling. This child prodigy in football not only knows that he wants to play football but has also been selected to train at Germany's most iconic club Bayern Munich, as an academy player for 2 whole months.
Chandan Nayak who lives in the Sabar Sahi slum is one of the lucky few who will attend an all-expenses-paid junior football camp in Munich.
"I am very happy, want to become a player for the Indian team one day. I really want to thank my coach," said Chandan, who idolises Argentine Lionel Messi.
Sharing details about Chandan's family, Coach Jayadev Mahapatra said that his family was living in abject poverty.
Chandan comes from a broken family. His father left them when he was still very young. The burden of the family came upon his mother who continues to work as a servant at several places to make ends meet. Coming from a poor family Chandan is an inspiration to the world showing that with bravery every odd can be overcome.
Reminiscing Chandan’s journey so far, the coach said that the boys is extremely talented and has been training with him since the past 3-4 years. In the last one year his training intensity has reached an altogether different level as he has been trained using modules which are generally used by international clubs and it has paid off. When Chandan was selected to play for Odisha, he was the youngest (11). Although the selection criteria bars players lesser than 14 years of age, he was selected after he wowed all the selectors.
"The same thing happened when he went to Pune. He surprised everyone including Sunil Chhetri, who was the head selector for this academy."
A visibly elated coach further insisted that his protégé would receive a rich experience once he completes his training in Germany.
Coach Jayadev shares the importance of attending this camp. To begin with Chandan will get a chance to play along the great Phillip Lahm. He will receive his training from the top coaches of the world. He will benefit by getting a global exposure when he plays alongside 120 other players from across the globe. The level of training he will receive will be far superior to anything that he will get here in India. Jayadev likened his student’s story to that of Argentine great Messi, who also used to stay in an underprivileged area in Argentina before being scouted by Barcelona at a tender age of 7.
The coach spared no words in praising both the Central and State government, for their support and cooperation in ensuring speedy processing of all of Chandan’s documents before the travel date of August 25.
* Read the original story on www.rediff.com