'Street was where I first kicked a football'- Ajin Tom

The youngster from Kerala tells of his tryst with the beautiful game.

For Ajin Tom, football is freedom and ever since the lanky midfielder found love in a ball in the fifth standard, life has never been the same.

“I started playing football when I was young and it was as if I had found freedom”, Ajin says. But freedom from what exactly? What possibly could freedom mean to a kid? “Freedom in expressing myself. The way I work the ball is an indication of how I am and that in itself is freedom.” After a little while, Ajin adds with a sly smile, “It also gave me freedom from studies.”

“I was good in my studies, but I used to wait for the clock to strike 4 (pm) and run down to play football with my friends. That was the whole highlight of my day.”

It were the streets that injected the passion of playing football in Ajin Tom. “Street was where I first kicked a football and we played with a makeshift goal post. It wasn’t much but looking back at that moment, it was everything.” Gradually Ajin joined a local academy named ‘Sept’ and with the Academy got his hands on his first ever trophy.

Related 

• I'm the embodiment of my father, who wanted to be a professional footballer': Mohammad Rakip
• My priority is to make my nation proud in the FIFA U-17 World Cup: Boris Singh
• Don't Regret Choosing Football Over Cricket: India U-17 Defender Jitendra Singh
• My favourite footballer is my father: Sanjeev Stalin
• It was an amazing moment to score against Chile: Nongdamba Naorem
• Test your knowledge by trying to identify all India U-17 World Cup Players

Story of Ajin Tom ( Video Credit: AIFF Media )

Hailing from a middle-class family, Ajin could hope of becoming an engineer or a doctor, but it was Ajin’s parents who sensed their son’s passion and boosted his spirits with support for football.

“My parents were supportive of me playing football as they were not allowed to indulge in sports when they were young. They want the best for me, they want me to enjoy whatever I do.”

Which parent does not? Hence Ajin has one goal only. “To make my parents proud by playing in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 India and showing to them that their support was not unbiased.”

 Tom supports local ISL franchise Kerala Blasters and Spanish Giant Real Madrid.