Thrissur: Bineesh Balan has donned the colours of top clubs in India and was on the verge of a call-up to the national team. But fate played a cruel joke on him. A former I-League and Federation Cup winner with Churchill Brothers, the talented winger suffered a serious injury while at the height of his game. It derailed and destroyed his career, ensuring a premature end to his football playing days at the age of 25.
Bineesh now ekes out a living as a daily wage labourer in his home town in Thrissur. While going out to work in the morning, he would wear his old jerseys in which he once set the field ablaze. Once he reaches the farm field, he would change his colourful clothes and keep them on his motorbike. Wearing a lungi, he would then start contouring the soil into rows using an iron spade till evening.
Until recently, his family was completely unaware of all this as they were of the belief that he was going out for practice.
"I didn't have any other option to feed my family. My father worked as a coolie to help me pursue a career in football. He would be shattered if he learned I too work as a daily wager now. I hid it from my family because I was ashamed and embarrassed of what they would think," said Bineesh.
Hailing from a poor family, Bineesh's father Balan worked as a headload worker at the Sakthan Thampuran market in Thrissur. As a youngster, Balan too played football, but he could not chase his dreams as he was forced to take up odd jobs to make ends meet.
In 2001, Bineesh participated in a summer football camp organised by the Kerala State Sports Council. That proved to be the turning point of the 12-year-old's life. Hailed by local coaches as an exciting talent to watch out for, he began his footballing career with the Tata Football Academy (TFA) in 2004. In the four years he spent at the academy, Bineesh represented TFA in various competitions at state and national level and became the team's top-scorer in the Under-19 JRD Tata Cup International Invitational Football Tournament. These exploits earned him a place in the national U-14 and U-19 squads as well.
Known for his explosive pace and eye for goal, the youngster was snapped up by I-League side Churchill Brothers at the start of the 2008-09 season. In his debut season, Bineesh scored six goals in 12 matches and his consistent performances saw him become the mainstay of the side over six seasons.
During this period, Bineesh went on to win the I-League in 2008-09 and 2012-13, Durand Cup and IFA Shield in 2011, and the Federation Cup in 2014 for the Goan side.
His stellar career came to an abrupt end after sustaining a severe knee injury in 2013. After his one-year contract with Pune FC ended in 2015, no major clubs approached him. He was just 25 then.
"It was a depressing phase. I underwent several surgeries and was hopeful of playing football again. But I could not train properly as implants were placed in both my legs. My mother is a homemaker while my father is too old to work now. I have a wife and a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and all of them are dependent on me. I had no choice but to do odd jobs to support my family," Bineesh said, not trying to hide his disappointment.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Football Association said that Bineesh's job application was rejected as he had crossed the age limit for appointment and thereby had become ineligible to apply for a sports quota job.
"We have forwarded his appeal to the State Sports Council. The authorities concerned have assured to consider it favourably. The matter was also brought to the notice of Sports Minister E P Jayarajan. We are looking forward to a positive response," said a top KFA official.