It was sometime in March 2012. I was walking down the staircase of my school. I heard someone call my name. It was the sports sir calling me. I went up to him and wished him. He told me the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was holding trials for the India team for the U-17 world cup in 2017. He asked me to inform my teammate Bosco and suggested that we both go for it as we both were invited.
On the day of the trials i found myself to be the only person from my school participating in the camp. Bosco hadn't showed up due to exams. I didn't really care about my exams or studies. I was lost. I didn't know what to do or who to go to. It was my first actual competitive selection. I saw some kids checking if their name was on a list. I followed them and to my surprise my name wasn't there. I didn't know what to do. I just said "Oh" and started walking away when the guy at the registration desk asked me if my name was Ankit Nagar. I just smiled. He asked me for my signature and birth certificate. I was then shown the way to the ground.
Wow! What a ground!! Lush green!! Cooperage had been redeveloped and had been fitted with an artificial turf. I was one of the lucky 125 who were selected to play on the new pitch. There were 5 selectors. The head selector was a foreign coach recognized by the AIFF. He made us stand according to our positions. There were around 15-20 in strike, 10 in midfield and 2 in defense. The selectors wanted to know if any of us could play defense. Many of the players from strike voluntarily went to the defense.We were then divided into teams of seven or eight. The ground was divided into 4 pitches. It was very well organised. After each game we were provided with water bottles and we had our own coach. I thought i played well. I lead the team well and played the role of a right winger. Those days i was a selfish player, never passed the ball until i was in trouble. I would go solo and shoot.
I was full of attitude and thought that i was the best. I considered myself to be untouchable. I was overconfident. But on the first day of trials i was very nervous. Maybe that's why i could play well. At the end of the day, i was selected in the top 36 out of the 125. I still remember how tensed i was when they were announcing the names of who have qualified. As soon as my name had been called up people started clapping. It felt good to be appreciated by all the people there. The final day of trials was my downfall. I was overconfident. I felt that if the first day of trials were a sign of how the rest of the players played then i was sure to get into the India team.
We were now to play in the main field. 11 vs 11. Proper matches with offsides and referees. I played on the right wing again this time. But unfortunately, i had this very tall guy as my marker. He kept pushing and shoving me. As i would get the ball, he would take the ball away. I was embarrassed and ashamed of my performance. I considered this as just a rough patch before i play my real game. Before the start of the last game, the coach told me that i was going to be a substitute. I was devastated. By the end of the match the coach realized that i hadn't got to play and instantly put me on. I fouled a player. It was a severe injury. I had whacked him in the stomach. He was puking. The referee yellow carded me. I asked myself if this day could get any worse.
After the game had got over we were told by the selectors that the results were to be declared by them a month later. They said they would contact us. I would eagerly wait every day for a call. I realized later that i wasn't good enough and just couldn't get selected. I went back and thought how i played and discovered that there was nothing special about me and i was just a kid with dreams which couldn't turn into reality. I was upset and thought of chucking the sport.
After listening to Gangopadhyay sir's advice i learnt a lesson that one will face setbacks in life and that doesn't mean that one should give up. One should keep moving forward. Life is full of hurdles and at times it will hit you hard. From then on i made my motto not to give up, ever.
" It's not how hard you can hit, It's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky ( the movie)
Wow! What a ground!! Lush green!! Cooperage had been redeveloped and had been fitted with an artificial turf. I was one of the lucky 125 who were selected to play on the new pitch. There were 5 selectors. The head selector was a foreign coach recognized by the AIFF. He made us stand according to our positions. There were around 15-20 in strike, 10 in midfield and 2 in defense. The selectors wanted to know if any of us could play defense. Many of the players from strike voluntarily went to the defense.We were then divided into teams of seven or eight. The ground was divided into 4 pitches. It was very well organised. After each game we were provided with water bottles and we had our own coach. I thought i played well. I lead the team well and played the role of a right winger. Those days i was a selfish player, never passed the ball until i was in trouble. I would go solo and shoot.
I was full of attitude and thought that i was the best. I considered myself to be untouchable. I was overconfident. But on the first day of trials i was very nervous. Maybe that's why i could play well. At the end of the day, i was selected in the top 36 out of the 125. I still remember how tensed i was when they were announcing the names of who have qualified. As soon as my name had been called up people started clapping. It felt good to be appreciated by all the people there. The final day of trials was my downfall. I was overconfident. I felt that if the first day of trials were a sign of how the rest of the players played then i was sure to get into the India team.
We were now to play in the main field. 11 vs 11. Proper matches with offsides and referees. I played on the right wing again this time. But unfortunately, i had this very tall guy as my marker. He kept pushing and shoving me. As i would get the ball, he would take the ball away. I was embarrassed and ashamed of my performance. I considered this as just a rough patch before i play my real game. Before the start of the last game, the coach told me that i was going to be a substitute. I was devastated. By the end of the match the coach realized that i hadn't got to play and instantly put me on. I fouled a player. It was a severe injury. I had whacked him in the stomach. He was puking. The referee yellow carded me. I asked myself if this day could get any worse.
After the game had got over we were told by the selectors that the results were to be declared by them a month later. They said they would contact us. I would eagerly wait every day for a call. I realized later that i wasn't good enough and just couldn't get selected. I went back and thought how i played and discovered that there was nothing special about me and i was just a kid with dreams which couldn't turn into reality. I was upset and thought of chucking the sport.
After listening to Gangopadhyay sir's advice i learnt a lesson that one will face setbacks in life and that doesn't mean that one should give up. One should keep moving forward. Life is full of hurdles and at times it will hit you hard. From then on i made my motto not to give up, ever.
" It's not how hard you can hit, It's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky ( the movie)
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