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ASIM BISWAS CARVES A NICHE IN BIG LEAGUE - by Dhiman Sarkar
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A little over one year ago, Asim Biswas was just another teenager in suburban Kolkata struggling with the business of living while chasing a dream of becoming a footballer.Father Ashutosh was a bus conductor he has since given up and life for this family of three in Ashokenagar wasn't easy. Then came a fortuitous break with Tollygunge Agragami and Biswas hasn't looked back since. Picked up by club secretary Mantoo Ghosh after a benefit match for Kasim Ali, the Mohammedan Sporting supporter who died two years after being injured in a gallery collapse at the club, Biswas has had an incredible first full season at the senior level.From a standout show with the under-20 national team in the Asian Youth Championships to a brilliant goal, which shocked Mohun Bagan in the National Football League last month, it was all happening for this skilful striker. And what better way to begin the new year than with a brace in his first full international with the senior team.
"Anyone who scores for his country would be pleased and I am no different. I think this is an opportune moment for me to thank my father and mother without whose sacrifices and encouragement I would never have played football. Even when I quit a job in the Army to pursue a career in football, they were supportive.
"We weren't living hand-to-mouth but it couldn't have been easy for them to say that. They said 'if you have confidence in your abilities, go ahead.' I can never forget that," Biswas, who seems remarkably composed for someone just out of his teens, told the Hindustan Times.
It was Tollygunge Agragami coach Aloke Mukherjee's idea to blood Asim as a striker. "When I took over last year, he would play as a substitute. I saw him train and decided to field him as a striker, pulling back Moses Ohira into the midfield," the self-effacing coach, here as Stephen Constantine's assistant, said after the match.
Nippy and intelligent, Biswas said it would have been great had a hat-trick happened. He got a golden opportunity but shot into goalie Jamshid from a one-on-one situation but as Constantine put it 'he is happy with what he has got.' The best compliment came from India skipper Debjit Ghosh. "I have seen him for two seasons now and Asim along with Subhas Chakrabarty are the best in the current crop of juniors. If he doesn't lose focus, I think we have found a worthy successor to Bhaichung Bhutia," Ghosh said.Not many get picked from obscurity into a NFL club. Biswas was and so far he hasn't put a foot wrong.
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