At an age where the average teenager spends most of his time on smartphones or watching movies, Kiyam Amarjit Singh spends his time focusing monk-like on his first and only love: football.
<img title="Kiyam Amarjit Singh. Pic/ATUL KAMBLE" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2015/dec/Kiyam-Amarjit-Singh.jpg" alt="Kiyam Amarjit Singh. Pic/ATUL KAMBLE" /> Kiyam Amarjit Singh. Pic/Atul Kamble
For, he is not your average teenager. He is the captain of the current U-16 Indian football team which will play the U-17 World Cup in 2017 &mdash; the first time India will be competing in a football World Cup at any level. In a little less than two years, the 14-year-old will have the weight of a nation&rsquo;s expectations on his shoulder as he helps India navigate the unchartered territory that is the FIFA World Cup. That&rsquo;s a massive burden for anyone, let alone a Standard IX student. However, Amarjit makes light of it.
&ldquo;There is some pressure (on us to perform). But it doesn&rsquo;t feel like the U-17 World Cup is approaching or anything,&rdquo; the midfielder told mid-day yesterday.
Since April, Amarjit and 33 other players, representing the cream of India&rsquo;s footballing talent, have been living at All India Football Federation&rsquo;s (AIFF) Fatorda, Goa campus or visiting countries like Spain, Germany and UAE on exposure trips. In fact, since April Amarjit has been to his Chandigarh home just for 15 days.
&ldquo;We put in a lot of effort. We have been leading a very disciplined lifestyle: get up on time, going to training sessions on time. That&rsquo;s why we improve. Coach (Nicolai Adam) has taught us discipline, josh (vigour) and aggression,&rdquo; Amarjit said. An average day with the Indian team consists of two one-and-a-half-hour training sessions besides one or one-and-a half-hour-long &lsquo;football theory&rsquo; session where the players are shown videos of football matches from European leagues. Soon, they&rsquo;ll also be shown videos of the 2015 U-17 World Cup matches from Chile.
But the ebullient lad doesn&rsquo;t mind. After all, for him, even watching ISL matches is entertainment.&nbsp; &ldquo;My life is just football,&rdquo; he said simply.

At an age where the average teenager spends most of his time on smartphones or watching movies, Kiyam Amarjit Singh spends his time focusing monk-like on his first and only love: football

At 14, Kiyam Amarjit Singh getting used to weight of expectations

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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article / At 14, Kiyam Amarjit Singh getting used to weight of expectations

At 14, Kiyam Amarjit Singh getting used to weight of expectations

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