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Abhijit Sarkar's journey so far has been one which shows us once again how passion and hardwork get you past all of life's hardships. Abhijit is the star striker in the current India U-17 setup. The boy from Bandel, West Bengal took the scene by storm after his impressive performances for the national side during their European exposure tour, where he bagged a special goal against an Italy XI.
Abhijit's family like most families in rural India and in the suburbs find it hard to manage to through their daily living, earning far less than what a family should. Abhijit's father earns for the family by pulling van rickshaws and his mother works at a local grocery shop as a cheap cigarette binder, but that never stopped them from supporting their child's dream of playing football who is now repaying their faith as he represents the national side. Here is a short video of him talking about his journey so far and his aspirations for the national team :
Here are ten things you need to know about one of India's star forwards :
#1 Abhijit was born in Kalyani in West Bengal.
#2 The 17-year-old's birthday is on the 5th of January.
#3 While Abhijit likes Mohun Bagan, his father supports bitter rivals East Bengal.
#4 He is a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and is a die-hard Real Madrid fan.
#5 Abhijit supports Indian Super League champions ATK.
#6 Apart from football, Abhijit enjoys playing carrom.
#7 He is a big fan of Shahrukh Khan, but his favourite movie is 3 Idiots.
#8 He loves listening to songs by Arijit Singh.
#9 Abhijit enjoys spending his leisure time watching movies or listening to music.
#10 He enjoys Bengali cuisine and loves the city of Kolkata.
Abhijit's footballing journey started out as a five-year-old when he was playing in the local grouds after seeing his elder brother play and win awards in local tournaments. However, his real break came when he was taken by local football coach Ashoke Mondol under his wing and since then it has all been on the up for the boy.
Abhijit is from a family who have always been involved with football, his father, grandfather and uncle just like his brother have played for local clubs and garnered accolades but none made it big. In Abhijit, his family and in fact his whole local area lived the dream of making it big as he got selected for the national team.
Abhijit was gifted a red ball by Brazilian legend Carlos Alberto during the World Cup tour of 2014 in Kolkata. “Live your life with it. Every night, when you will sleep, this football should be your companion.” advised the Brazilian and it got etched in this little Bengali boys heart. Abhijit, who will be one of the key men for Luis Norton de Matos' team going forward, will be hoping to do his best and make the whole nation and especially his parents proud.
Stay tuned to this series for more about the Indian team stars who will make the nation proud at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 will start on 6th October and the official broadcasters for the event in India are SONY TEN 2 and SONY TEN 3
