Pune/Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC will take on ATK in its first-ever Indian Super League (ISL) match at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Sunday and the loudest cheer will be for local boy Shubham Sarangi.
The 19-year-old is among the probables to feature in the much-awaited campaign opener for the state-based football club.
This Delhi-born footballer is known for being aggressive and combative on the field.
He got into the sport, in his own words, playing against boys bigger than him, in his colony in South Delhi. His break came when the Delhi team for the Under-14 Nationals was being formed, according to a report published in the SportStar.
He was selected for the Nationals in Kalyani and later picked by the AIFF Elite Academy, where he played he played alongside majority of the U-17 squad, including Rahul KP and Jitendra ‘Jitu’ Singh.
The biggest shocker make when he failed to make it to the final list of 23 players for 2017 Under-17 World Cup. Sarangi was the one of the most notable names missing from the squad, it added.
A forward, he then joined hometown club Delhi Dynamos. Sarangi was the first player from the club to head to Aspire Academy, a partner of Dynamos, for a 4-month long training session at the state-of-the-art facilities in Doha in 2018.
When Delhi Dynamos was rechristened as Odisha Football Club (OFC) with the club signing a long-term agreement with the Odisha government in September this year, he was the only local lad in the squad.
However, football lovers of Odisha have to wait a little more to see him in action on home soil . The franchise had to shift its venue for three home matches to Pune as Kalinga Stadium was being upgraded for the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
However, it has launched its official fan park at Esplanade One Mall in Bhubaneswar, where the match will be shown from 7.30 pm.
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