FIFA Under 17 World Cup: Everybody wants to talk about Komal Thatal

India went down 3—0 to a very strong USA side in New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium yesterday. It was, as most of us know by now, the first time a team from the country was playing in a FIFA World Cup final tournament at any level. The loss was inevitable—almost predetermined. 

In footballing terms, as in many other aspects of Indian society, we are still in the 20th century. Yesterday’s matchup can be likened to, for example, an army equipped with bows and arrows taking on another with nuclear weapons and drones to deliver them. 

So what was the purpose of the entire exercise, you might ask. There is much room for debate on this pecheeda savaal. The broad, and commonly accepted, argument is that hosting a tournament such as the Under-17 World Cup provides a fillip to the evolutionary process of the sport in the country. The other purpose is to watch an Indian team compete against the best in the world to gauge our standing vis a vis established football nations and identify areas where development efforts need to focus. The latter point, using Sikkim as an example, is the subject of this particular piece today. 

A large number of the reports published after last night’s game focussed on the performance of one young Indian player in particular—Komal Thatal. The 17-year-old, with faux-blond hair styled in the manner of a Neymar hairdo gone by, is a left-sided winger who comes from the Northeastern state of Sikkim. Last evening he won favour from the massive crowd that turned up to watch India. Skillful, fast and willing to take on defenders irrespective of their size or pedigree, Thatal displayed flashes of brilliance. Particularly in the second half of the game, once India had settled down and regained some measure of composure, he was a threat on the left wing. You could see that the US defenders mark him with an added measure of respect after he displayed the ability to beat them in a one-on-one situations. India’s first goalscoring chance came in the 55th minute when Thatal ran onto a lofted through ball and found himself with just the keeper to beat. It was a difficult opportunity, though, and Thatal’s attempt to go over the keeper, rather than around, was unsuccessful. The best chance of the game, in the 83rd minute, came via a Thatal corner and resulted in Anwar Ali hitting the crossbar with a strike on the volley. Each time Thatal had the ball on that left side the otherwise quite silent crowd roared. It was not a great game, by any stretch, but at least he managed to make his presence felt. 

Thatal is the only player from the state in the current under-17 squad. That, in itself, is an achievement. Many of us, from mainland India, speak of the eight states of the northeast as some sort of homogenous entity. This is far from the truth. Sikkim may have given us Bhaichung Bhutia, and is home to several other talented players, but it is most definitely a footballing backwater. Even within the limited context of Indian football. Bhutia is among those who have attempted to vitalise the football ecosystem in the state over the years. With investment from FidelisWorld, a Mauritius-based asset management company that focusses on investment in sport businesses in Asia, he tried to professionalise United Sikkim Football Club. United Sikkim competed for two years in the second division of the I-League and had decent results. The plan was to secure promotion to the top flight within three years. However, before any of that could happen, the money dried up. The local people have a massive appetite for football. But the economy is another story. The money men, it seems, figured that sustaining a professional club in Sikkim’s difficult economic conditions was not doable. The club is still running but now focusses on the state league and regional competitions. It is a platform for young players to get some experience in the sport at a semi-pro level. 

Thatal learned the basics at the Namchi Sports Hostel. Run by the Sikkim government, Namchi is almost the only football nursery in the state. Most Sikkimese players who have managed to turn professional, including recent India internationals Nirmal Chhetri, Sanju Pradhan and Bikash Jairu, have spent some time in Namchi. It is the gateway to the outside world and getting out is the only way players from Sikkim can build a career. Chhetri is in regular contact with the junior player from his state. In fact, a few months ago he became the latest senior player to set up a grassroots facility back in the town he came from. Chhetri’s academy is already playing in regional competitions and he is well aware of how much work needs to be done. He plans to develop the academy, use it as a feeder for FC Melli, the club he has founded, and then act as a starting point for players to make their way to bigger clubs such as Neroca, Aizawl or even ISL franchise Northeast United. Chhetri knows Thatal’s performance will not lead to India winning the under 17 World Cup. But he hopes that it will fire the imagination of the state government—currently the fulcrum of the economy and the only body with the resources to help on every front. The legacy of this tournament, indeed its entire premise, is based on stories such as these. The money, interest and support must trickle down to academies like Namchi and other smaller facilities. Otherwise this entire tournament, at least for India, will be nothing more than an exercise in public relations.

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