After signing for Delhi Dynamos, Shubham Sarangi is ready to put U-17 World Cup snub behind him

For Shubham Sarangi, life has come a full circle. For any 17-year-old, the experience that he went through might be described as difficult.

Three months prior to the 2017 Under-17 World Cup held in India, the teenager was one of two footballers, alongside Rahul Kannoly Praveen, present at new coach Luis Norton de Matos’s first press conference held in New Delhi.

The Delhi-born Sarangi took questions with ease and the general presumption, if an incorrect one, was that the ex-Minerva Academy product would make it into the final list of 23 in India’s first-ever World Cup squad.

When the list was finally released, Sarangi was the one of the most notable names missing from the squad. After having spent a good part of three years prepping for this moment, although he doesn’t say as much, the disappointment must have been crushing.

“I’ve moved past the World Cup,” said a staunch Sarangi. “There is no disappointment. I’ve already forgotten the World Cup. There will always be ups and down. You just have to keep yourself motivated and stick to the task at hand.”

The forward added that did receive a few offers from European teams but once hometown club Delhi Dynamos came calling, he could not say no to them.

Now, Sarangi will hop over to Aspire Academy, partners of the Dynamos, in order to try and get experience with the Qatar-based setup, which has one of the most sought-after facilities in the world, with the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich also using it for their age group teams.

“At Aspire, Shubham will get an exposure like never before,” Oscar Garro, Director of External Projects, Aspire Academy said. “He will have 6-8 training sessions a week where he can work on himself and under some very experienced coaches. This opportunity will also see him play against players of similar age from renowned European teams, which will help him get a lot of experience.”

Sarangi will be the first Dynamos player to head there, with others likely to follow after his four-month stint there. “This is my chance to develop. Aspire is one of the biggest academies in the world and they have a good knowledge of football.”

For the Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric fan, European football is something that he had gotten first-hand experience of during the Under-17 team’s exposure tours.

“When we were playing Sporting Lisbon, spectators spoke to me about Ronaldo. They said he worked hard after he came here, because he was so thin. I’ve always had an European dream,” he said.

Sarangi also spoke of his inspirations in the squad. “It is huge to play alongside someone like Kalu Uche, who has represented his country at the highest level, the World Cup. The likes of Pritam Kotal and Lallinzuala Chhangte were also once part of the Pailan Arrows, so I look up to them as well.”

A forward who’s described as aggressive and combative, Sarangi’s tendency to pick up cards is something that he agrees has to be worked upon.

Shubham got into the sport, in his own words, playing against boys bigger than him, in his colony in South Delhi. His break came when the Delhi team for the Under-14 Nationals was being formed.

Having appeared for trials for the team, Shubham never looked back. He was promptly selected for the Nationals in Kalyani, where he impressed enough to be picked up by the AIFF Elite Academy.

There, he played alongside the majority of the U-17 squad, where Rahul KP and Jitendra ‘Jitu’ Singh were among his closest buddies. An untimely injury forced him to train with Minerva for four months before rejoining the team.

Signed by the Dynamos this summer, Sarangi will hope to rekindle the fire once again as he moves to Aspire for a brief stint.