Durgapur boy Aviraj Ram has been selected by Coal India to play for its team in the Kolkata League.
The road from Durgapur to Kolkata Maidan was not very smooth for Aviraj. His father Paramananda Ram worked as a coolie at Sen Market, a wholesale vegetable market adjacent to Durgapur station, loading and unloading vegetables from the truck. A family having three daughters, two sons and wife; the family of seven relies on the meagre earning of Paramananda.
In recent years he on his own got admitted in the football coaching camp of Durgapur Gammon Bridge Friends Club. In very short time Aviraj’s football skill came to the notice of the football coach Supriya Das. In past few years, Aviraj had been a prolific footballer of the Gammon Bridge Friends Club. Playing as a midfielder he has been scoring regularly in local league matches.
At the suggestion of Supriya Das , Aviraj recently went to give a trial at Kolkata Maidan and got selected for Coal India team. Aviraj has signed a contract to play for Coal India this season. He has been practicing hard in Kolkata now and come home on Saturday and Sunday.
Aviraj’s ideal footballer is Sunil Chhetri. He dreams that one day he will play football for the Bengal team in the Santosh Trophy and also someday get chance to play for the country.
In the words of Aviraj, “I got a chance to play at Kolkata Maidan and I don’t want to look back. Anyway, I have to be a big player like Sunil Chhetri”. The Gammon Bridge Friends Club pays a handful of expenses to cover the cost of travel. Mukut Naha, secretary of the Gammon Bridge Club said, “Many players from our club have played in the Kolkata League. But Aviraj Ram got a chance in a team like Coal India at a very young age. It makes us proud”.