Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 3: The newly established Jammu based football Club–Sports Saviours Football Club (SSFC)– today adopted talented young and needy boy from Hiranagar to financially support him in his endeavour to excel both in education and sports.
A constituent of former national and international football players from Jammu, the SSFC was looking for someone deserving and finally found in Vansh Gupta the boy with potential to grow as a footballer.
A fifth standard student of Infant Jesus Higher Secondary School Hirangar, Vansh has been presented with the first instalment of yearly scholarship of Rs 50,000. The first cheque was handed over to Vansh by special guest on the occasion, Chairman Citizen’s Cooperative Bank Ltd., Jammu, Parveen Sharma in the presence of other members of the SSFC.
“When the SSFC, through international Footballer from Jammu, Arun Malhotra, approached me to do the honours, I was quite surprised. The gesture was something I came across for the first time. All these members of SSFC are settled in life because of the game and now they are giving back to those who need the most,” said Parveen, speaking on the occasion.
Practicing football for the last eight months, courtesy the competition organised by the SSB in district Kathua, Vansh was accompanied by his father, Sohan Lal Gupta.
“He is passionate about football and has started spending a lot of time in the ground ever since he played in a tournament organised by the SSB in Kathua. I have a very limited source of earnings out of my small business to pursue his passion. He is a God gifted talent and the Almighty God has helped him get the much needed support from SSFC,” Sohan Lal told SAN on the sidelines of the function.
Earlier, most senior member of the SSFC, Vipin Gupta unfolded a couple instances of his early years of struggle as a player with an aim to encourage and boost the duo, Vansh and his father. Vipin, who played for J&K Bank and retired form a senior administrative position from the same institution, has a record of maximum representations from the state in prestigious Santosh Trophy.
Other senior players, Gurmeet Singh (J&K Bank), Vishal Bandral (J&K Police), Vishal Bhardwaj, Sandeep Sharma (J&K Police), Ajay Kumar (ex-J&K Police captain), Ramesh Verma, Narinder and Sham Lal were among other SSFC members who encouraged young Vansh.