Grand Omaxe FC juniors aim to take HT GIFA by storm

FC Grand Omaxe, a junior football team from Sector 93B, are first time participants in the Hindustan Times Great Indian Football Action (HT GIFA).

FC Grand Omaxe, a junior football team from Sector 93B, are first-time participants in the Hindustan Times Great Indian Football Action (HT GIFA). Team members said they have been practising football as a team for the last two years.

FC Grand Omaxe, a junior football team from Sector 93B, are first-time participants in the Hindustan Times Great Indian Football Action. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The team will be representing their residential complex Grand Omaxe at HT GIFA – the ultimate football league for Delhi-NCR – which has become a calendar event for football lovers and residents.

Practising the basic skills of passing the ball and also strengthening their defence, the team of 10-11 year-olds looks confident and disciplined ahead of the tournament, which will pit them against the best in Delhi-NCR.

Bhuvan Joshi, who is the team’s coach, is confident that the team will pose a challenge to the best teams in the tournament.

“These kids have been practising in my academy for the last two years and they have learned a lot from their mistakes. The main aspect of the game that I am trying to teach them is that football is a team game and every player, be it the striker or the defender or goalkeeper or even a substitute, has a specific role to play for the team’s success. Football is a team game and it cannot be won without the spirit of sportsmanship,” Joshi said.

The 10 member team of FC Grand Omaxe comprises of Tanmay Raswant, Aryan Verma, Divyansh Singh, Aditya Madan, Ameya Bhatnagar, Jatin Singh, Akil Vaibhav, Rohan Rajiv, Garv Agarwal and Vansh Kohli.

The team looks excited as they are about to make their debut in the tournament.

“We will do our best in the tournament with the guidance of our coach sir. We are very excited about the tournament,” said Aditya Madan, a player.

However, FC Grand Omaxe has not declared their captain or goalkeeper for the tournament. Coach Joshi has preferred not to disclose the position in which his players would play as he believes that this ‘surprise element’ would prove to be a major weapon for the team in the tournament.

“We want our team to be flexible so that any player can play as the goalie or a striker. It doesn’t matter what position they play, what matters is whether that they stay united and give it their best,” said Joshi.