Aditya Bala, a grade 12 student at Pathways Noida was awarded gold medal by FIFA for outstanding performance in ‘Gothia Cup 2014’ at Gothenburg, Sweden. Aditya Shares his experience of achievement in his own words.
The ‘Gothia Cup’ is a youth football tournament held annually in Gothenburg, Sweden. Youth teams throughout the world enter the competition. This year, almost 1700 teams from around 80 nations across the globe participated in the ‘Gothia Cup’. Only 6 clubs participating in different categories including both boys and girls took part from India. I got an opportunity to give a try out for the club which was participating from North India. After many try-outs and practice sessions, I finally got into the team. I was representing ‘Glacier Football Club’ in the category of Boys16. My friend and classmate Samrat Bhattacharya, who plays as a defender was also selected by the same club and we were truly excited to set on the journey to Gothenburg.
We left on the 12th of July looking forward to the thrill and experience awaiting us in Sweden. The 10 days we spent over there cannot be explained in words. Making new friends, sharing things from people we barely know and roaming independently in the city of Gothenburg all by our own is unforgettable. It was an exhilarating experience, beside the ineffable excitement of testing our feet on the international soccer field.
The much awaited tournament finally took off on the 13th of July. We lost our initial matches against Sweden and Norway. But our third match against Germany was a tough one which ended in a draw. The next match with Russia was a good one for us as we defeated them with a score of 1-0. We managed to reach the pre-quarterfinals but lost against Denmark. The level of professionalism and football, has a whole different meaning at the international platform was a big lesson learnt!
However, to the best of my surprise, I was one of the top ten members out of all the players in my category to be awarded gold medal by FIFA for outstanding performance in the matches and I have been asked to participate in the next year’s tournament as I have been spotted by various European clubs. Who knows what is there in store for me in my future!
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