E-Paper
Mumbai’s Siddh Chandarana lives his dream, represents India at FIFAe Nations Online Qualifier
Like most teenagers, Chandarana did not just play football on the ground but was also hooked to the virtual version. Now with the real thing not available to him anymore, the boy began playing the PlayStation version with a vengeance.
Siddh Chandarana had barely settled into his early teens when he was advised by doctors to stop playing a sport he fervently loved. In school, he dreamt of playing for India, but when he was diagnosed with allergic bronchitis, Chandarana had to give up on football.
“Because of my condition, I couldn’t run a lot and would get tired very quickly. By the time I was 14, the doctors asked me to stop playing it completely because it was affecting my lungs,” Chandarana said.
Like most teenagers, Chandarana did not just play football on the ground but was also hooked to the virtual version. Now with the real thing not available to him anymore, the boy began playing the PlayStation version with a vengeance.
Come Friday, Mumbai’s Chandarana, now 20, will be one of the two Indians representing the country in the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers, a qualifying event for the FIFAe Nations Cup 2021. It will be the first time an Indian team will participate in an official FIFAe (competitive gaming) tournament, in which Chandarana will play on his Xbox and 18-year-old Charanjot Singh on his PlayStation. Competing from their respective homes in Mumbai and Chandigarh, Chandarana and Singh will vie with teams from South Africa, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE for two spots at the FIFAe Nations Cup in August.
Donning the India blue while playing for his country on an Xbox wasn’t exactly how Chandarana envisioned his football journey to pan out after playing for his school in Mumbai.
“After my football stopped, I took to FIFA just because I loved the game so much. I started entering tournaments and soon realised that I have something in me,” he said.
By 2017, Chandarana decided to get into the Esport professionally, playing tournaments at home and abroad; his first international event was in Singapore in 2018. In October that year, he was signed up by M10 Esports, a professional Esports team founded by German and ex-Arsenal football star Mesut Ozil, who personally tweeted to welcome the Indian teen to his team’s roster. “He would tag me in his (social media) stories, which was a special feeling,” Chandarana, a Gunners fan himself, said.
That’s when Chandarana knew his chosen path of playing FIFA professionally was more than just an adventure.
“When I played my first few international tournaments, I used to watch the pro players play the game for a living. It excited me. And when I actually got an offer from M10, my family and I thought I could do this full time,” he said.
Last month, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) organised the AIFF eFootball Challenge for the top 16 FIFA players in the country. As one of the four semi-finalists in the tournament, Chandarana was picked by the federation to represent India at the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers.
In his third year studying Bachelor of Computer Applications, Chandarana dedicates 3-4 hours to FIFA on weekdays, which ramps up to 8-9 hours over the weekend that usually includes playing leagues and tournaments.
“Mentally, it’s very challenging to keep at it,” Chandarana said. “Sitting in front of a screen for hours and hours every day can get very draining on the mind. But as professional Esports athletes, even we have to work on our mindset.
“Especially in FIFA, where the margin of error is very small; one little mistake and you can lose the game.”
Much like the actual football, isn’t it?
