FC Pune City's Ashique Kuruniyan. Photo: Malayala ManoramaWhen he dropped out of school in the eighth grade, Ashique Kuruniyan wanted to do two things for the rest of his life: playing football and doing some job to supplement the family’s income.
Soon, he took up the job of a helper at a juice shop in the locality. He worked there during the daytime and played football in the evening.
The pattern of Ashique’s life continued unchanged for some time, before destiny connected him to MSP Higher Secondary School in Malappuram, a cradle of football.
He was selected by the erstwhile I-League side Pune FC’s youth academy, thanks to his exploits in school-level age-group tournaments, before being picked by Indian Super League (ISL) team Pune City FC. The real turning point in his footballing career came when he was sent on loan to La Liga outfit Villarreal's 'C' team for one year by Pune City FC.
After suffering a hamstring tear which cut short his stint with Villarreal, Ashique came back strongly in the ongoing ISL, and became the youngest Keralite to score a goal in the glamorous league.
On Thursday, he will realize a long-cherished dream of playing in front of his relatives and friends when Pune City FC take on Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Hailing from a humble background, Ashique was forced to quit studies and work at a young age to help the family make ends meet. The MSP school authorities persuaded him to continue studies and accommodated him in their sports hostel.
“I’m thankful to the school for giving me the opportunity to study and play football. The Kerala Football Association’s Vision India scheme has also helped me a lot to hone my skills. I was selected by the SAIL Football Academy during the U-15 National Championship held in Jharkhand. Soon after completing the training stint, a second division club in the Delhi league offered me a contract, twenty-two-year-old Ashique, who is the youngest of the five children of Assain-Khadeeja couple of Pattarkadavu in Malappauram district, said.
It was star defender Anas Edathodika, who also hails from Malappuram, who prodded Ashique into joining the Pune FC Academy. He was about to join the ISL side Delhi Dynamos when Pune City FC took over the academy after Pune FC disbanded its first team operations.
In the ongoing league, Ashique came on as a substitute in the first few matches for the star-studded Pune City FC, but in the final two games, he figured in the starting XI.
Blasters will be wary of this quick and genuinely left-footed local lad who is high on confidence after netting a goal against NorthEast United in the last game.
Read more: ISL Specials | Meulensteen deserved the axe, says Vijayan
