Chandomaye – An international footballer from Mylapore?

At 13, Chandomaye is working hard towards achieving her ambitious goal that of playing football for the country

From the time she was in class one, Chandomaye, daughter of Malola Kannan (renowned for his presentations on Nalayira Divya Prabhandham and Desigar Prabhandham), has been an athlete. She continued for about 3-4years until one fine day, her coach spotted her speed in running and suggested to her to focus on football for speed was an essential ingredient for footballers.

Now in class 7 at PS Sr. Sec School, Chandomaye practices for over an hour every evening on honing here football skills under the watchful eyes of the award winning coach K Kalidasan.

In the three years since she first kicked a football, Chandomaye has made rapid strides. Like her favourite Lionel Messi, she too (a forward) has scored goals that have helped her team win. During this period, Chandomaye has played in well over 10 inter school tournaments here in Chennai with her school finishing in the top three in most.

The big moment in her short career so far has been helping her school finish third in the CBSE Schools National tourney held last season. No school in South Zone had till then ever finished that high in the nationals.

Coach’s role

She credits all her interest and initial success to her coach Kalidasan who she claims is one of a kind coach. ‘He is a real motivator and knows how to get the best out of all the players. He comes all the way from Manali to coach us. He is a real inspiration for all of us at PS Sr Sec School. His way of coaching is very innovative and we enjoy every minute of the game.’ She also credits him for teaching all the football rules in a very easy and practical way.

Last year, she went to Hosur to play in the CBSE schools Nationals. She has also been to Bangalore and Coimbatore for South Zone tournaments. Recently, she was selected by the state association to be part of the Chennai District Football U 17 team that went to Dindigul.

She is also pleased of the encouragement given by her teachers and the principal. Earlier this year, the nationals tourney almost clashed with her final exams. With the team playing well and the prospect of a top finish, she was permitted to continue with the tournament.

With the possibility of figuring in different age groups tournaments over the next five years - U14, U17 and then U19 – age is on her side. With hard work and the right kind of coaching, Chandomaye could well go on to realise her dream- that of playing for the country.