When Kannoly Praveen Rahul gets ready for action on football turf, which his fellow players describe as ‘tough’, one is likely to suspect if he has taken some power drink. Such is his speed, stamina and strength. If you ask him about the secret of his abundant energy, Rahul restricts his response to a smile. That smile has a meaning. For a boy who grew up playing football barefoot on the tarred road in front of his home, any turf is like soft carpet. It was this training on the tarred road that enabled him to run non-stop on the playground—since he could not bear to stand on the hot, tarred road barefoot in the mid-day sun, he needed to shift his legs all the time by running after the ball. Even after becoming a member of the national team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Rahul did not give up the habit of running on the playground. Not fearing the heat under his feet, but to see that his team did not feel the heat of losing. The class IX student played in the Thrissur district U-14 team until March 2014 and now he is playing for the nation team in the U-17 World Cup. So, what catapulted him to this exalted stage?
K.P. Rahul
Before March 2014
The sound of football hitting against the wall could be heard often at the home of Rahul at Shreyas Nagar in Ollukkara, Thrissur. This was the sound of a young Rahul practising penalty kicks. His uncle Pradeep was his first coach and hero. Rahul was just seven years old when he started playing football along with his uncle. Pradeep took Rahul to M. Peethambaran, who was the coach of the Kerala Santhosh Trophy team. Thereafter, Rahul got training at the Sports Education Promotion Trust (SEPT) in Parappur. His career as a footballer took a turn like a ‘banana shot’ while participating in the U-14 camp, conducted by the Thrissur District Football Association in March 2014.
In 2014
Rahul was selected to the Thrissur district U-14 team. They became champions at the state-level U-14 championship and Rahul was adjudged the best footballer of the tournament. Shortly afterwards, he was selected to the Kerala U-14 team. At the national championship held in Kolkata, Rahul was the top goal scorer. While he was resting in the dressing room after the match, Veluswamy, AIFF representative, came searching for him. It was only after a month that Rahul knew why Veluswamy had called on him: Rahul was asked to participate in the camp at Goa to select players for the U-17 World Cup.
Ten days after he was back home after the Goa camp, Rahul was informed that he was selected to the national camp and that he should return to Goa along with his passport. In all, 50 players were trained at the Goa camp by coach Nicolai Adam. Rahul joined the B-Team at the camp, and, four months later, was promoted to the A-Team. From then on, there was no looking back for Rahul.
(The article was originally published in Malayala Manorama)
