Practicing 1,000 shots per day helped Azharuddin, says Mohun Bagan hero's father

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Kolkata, April 12: Azharuddin Mallick is the new sensation among the Mohun Bagan fans after his 30-yard screamer of a goal helped Bagan seal a crucial win against rivals East Bengal in I-League.

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Azharuddin's father Ketab Ali was a mere worker at a gold manufacturing store in a village in Hooghly district named Chanditala.

Unfortunately, Ketab was forced to leave the job after being diagnosed with a heart attack last year. Despite fighting against poverty, Azhar's father was passionate about football.

The Mohun Bagan footballer started playing football since his childhood. His father used to take his son to play tournaments.

Ketab suggested that he was like a mentor to Azhar since his childhood as he wanted his son to build a career in football.

As a result, he sent his son to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Siliguri. Initially Azhar was very upset. He did want to stay at SAI, leaving his family.

But, his father's strictness forced him to stay at SAI. But within a couple of months Azhar received a huge blow. He was jolted with an injury on his knee. The footballer had to come back from the camp.

Following a knee surgery, he remained out of action for around six to seven months.

Ketab Ali recollected: “After being released from hospital he returned to his village and while resuming training at our village ground I used to watch him outside the ground.

"In that phase, Azhar used to practice shooting. He used to hit at least one thousand shots every day! I used to count it with patience."

This was the reason, Azhar's father was not much ecstatic about his son's superb 30-yard winner in the Kolkata derby.

He added: “I always believed that Azhar's unbelievable shooting practice during that phase will pay back someday. He deserves the appreciation as he had come up with a lot of struggle since his childhood."

OneIndia News