Accidental hero
Sayed Roshan
Naresh came to Mumbai for sight-seeing, but ended up playing football for Maharashtra.
Around 11 years ago, 13-year-old Naresh Bohara came to Mumbai from Nepal for sight-seeing, but ended up playing football for the Maharashtra's Under-14 team.
But Naresh’s speed caught everyone’s eyes and coach Tony D’sa summoned him to practice with the school team.
Yesterday, Naresh’s lone goal helped St Joseph’s score a victory over Campion ‘A’ in the MSSA under-14 tournament. After a goalless first half, Naresh pierced into the Campion defence and managed a 35th-minute powerful strike into the left corner of the frame.
“My dream is to become a professional footballer. If I hadn’t come to Mumbai, I don’t know where I would have ended back home,” he said.
Avinash Gracious, assistant coach, has seen Naresh grow. “He is a genuine talent. He believes in playing well rather than scoring goals. He is good in his studies as well,” Gracious said. Naresh scored 10 goals in four matches in the Subroto Cup for Maharashtra under-14, held in Delhi last month.
Results
Boys’ U-14 DIV I: St. Joseph (Wadala) 1 (Naresh Bohara) beat Campion (Cooperage) 0; Navy Children (Colaba) 3 (Ankesh Kumar 2, Rohit Pandya) beat Colaba Muncipal (Colaba) 0; Bombay Scottish (Mahim) 1 (Aryan Vanjari) beat St Paul ‘A’ (Dadar) 0; Lilavatibai Poddar (Santacruz) 3 (Tanishq Naik, Archit K, Arslaan Khan) beat Infant Jesus (Malad) 1 (Purchit Vinay); Boys’ U-14 Div II: St Anne’s (Malad) 3 (Varun D’souza, Madhav Modak, Sayed) beat Gokuldham (Goregaon) 0;
Boys’ U-14 DIV II: Army School (Colaba) 2 (Shivansh Tiwari, Dhruv Gurav) beat St. Mary’s SSC (Mazagaon) 0; St Lawrence (Borivali) 1 (Risar Kotian) beat Don Bosco (Borivali) 0; Sacred Heart (Santacruz) 3 (Jason D’Costa 2, Ridge D’Mello) beat Hiranandani Foundation (Powai) 0
Naresh came to Mumbai for sight-seeing, but ended up playing football for Maharashtra.
Around 11 years ago, 13-year-old Naresh Bohara came to Mumbai from Nepal for sight-seeing, but ended up playing football for the Maharashtra's Under-14 team.
The son of a watchman at St Joseph’s (Wadala), Naresh’s saw his life change when school principal Fr Tony Pinto asked his father to enrol him into Class Two for studies.
But Naresh’s speed caught everyone’s eyes and coach Tony D’sa summoned him to practice with the school team.
Yesterday, Naresh’s lone goal helped St Joseph’s score a victory over Campion ‘A’ in the MSSA under-14 tournament. After a goalless first half, Naresh pierced into the Campion defence and managed a 35th-minute powerful strike into the left corner of the frame.
“My dream is to become a professional footballer. If I hadn’t come to Mumbai, I don’t know where I would have ended back home,” he said.
Avinash Gracious, assistant coach, has seen Naresh grow. “He is a genuine talent. He believes in playing well rather than scoring goals. He is good in his studies as well,” Gracious said. Naresh scored 10 goals in four matches in the Subroto Cup for Maharashtra under-14, held in Delhi last month.
Results
Boys’ U-14 DIV I: St. Joseph (Wadala) 1 (Naresh Bohara) beat Campion (Cooperage) 0; Navy Children (Colaba) 3 (Ankesh Kumar 2, Rohit Pandya) beat Colaba Muncipal (Colaba) 0; Bombay Scottish (Mahim) 1 (Aryan Vanjari) beat St Paul ‘A’ (Dadar) 0; Lilavatibai Poddar (Santacruz) 3 (Tanishq Naik, Archit K, Arslaan Khan) beat Infant Jesus (Malad) 1 (Purchit Vinay); Boys’ U-14 Div II: St Anne’s (Malad) 3 (Varun D’souza, Madhav Modak, Sayed) beat Gokuldham (Goregaon) 0;
Boys’ U-14 DIV II: Army School (Colaba) 2 (Shivansh Tiwari, Dhruv Gurav) beat St. Mary’s SSC (Mazagaon) 0; St Lawrence (Borivali) 1 (Risar Kotian) beat Don Bosco (Borivali) 0; Sacred Heart (Santacruz) 3 (Jason D’Costa 2, Ridge D’Mello) beat Hiranandani Foundation (Powai) 0
