From Chennai’s mini Brazil, a young footballer’s big dream

What does a day in the life of a 13-year-old who dreams of representing India in football look like? For S Hariharan, it means waking up at 4am, and juggling school with two training sessions. All this six days a week.

The long days can be demanding, but this football player casually calls it a small sacrifice to achieve a bigger dream.

“I started playing football at the age of 10 and never turned back. I saw my dad playing and wanted to try it. He was my first coach,” says Hariharan.

Although it initially started as a fun game, Hariharan was intrigued by the benefits and opportunities that sports brought to an individual. “There are many Government employees living near my home who got jobs through the sports quota playing football. This made me want to play the sport seriously,” he says.