CHANDAN 2 LAST

Chandan, who lives in a 10×12 feet room, did not have a Chandan, who lives in a 10×12 feet room, did not have arecognised birth certificate. Bhubaneswar Mayor Jena helpedhim get a birth certificate and finally the visa was issued tothe boy. "We are too poor. We do not have a television set athome. But, my son is a big fan of Messi. He has purchased ajersey with Messi’s name written on it. I will be happy if hemakes the country proud. We have to wait till that day,"Chandan’s mother said. Mohapatra said though the initial training offer was fortwo months, Chandan would show his talent to please theselectors at Bayern Munich. He said Chandan qualified in all levels of thecompetition to get this chance and Sunil Chettri, headselector at the Pune selection camp, was surprised by theskills of the young footballer. The selection criteria was to pick boys in the age groupof 14 to 16 and Chandan (11) was not allowed initially. "But we requested them to give him a chance and Chandansurprised everyone. His technique in passing and dribblingsurprised all," Mohapatra said. The coach said Chandan would be among the 120 childrenfrom across the world to get training in Germany. "Chandan is a source of inspiration for slum kids whoplay football," Mohapatra added. PTI AAM DKBSRY