The UEFA EURO 2012 trophy was recently unveiled in the capital in the presence of former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia where he spoke about his passion for game, his club and plans to write a book.
The UEFA EURO 2012 trophy was recently unveiled in the capital in the presence of former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia. We chatted up with the legendary sportsman and he excitedly said, "The trophy is brought to India for the first time. It's a great initiative and we will offer enthusiast footballers to experience the game." When asked how he felt being addressed as former Indian football captain and Baichung confesses, "Frankly, I had no regrets when I retired from the game. I had planned that I would retire but that doesn't mean that I would stop playing the game. I'm still active and have continued my passion for playing football but in a different format this time. I have formed my own club and have been grooming the young enthusiast footballers. Hence I would say the journey has just begun and it's not the end of the story. It hardly makes a difference if I'm addressed as former Indian captain. Yes, but initially I would feel a bit of pinch when media started addressing me as former Indian football captain immediately after my retirement. But that doesn't worry me at all. I feel a sportsman is always a sportsman whether you retire, play or not play. I have given my best and hope to do much better things that would help in promoting the game in future too."
When asked why he decided to shift along with his family from Kolkata to Sikkim? Baichung replies, "I moved to Sikkim now and have settled down there with my family, wife and three kids. I'm enjoying being back home. The main reason of shifting to Sikkim was because of my club activities. I felt that now it was more important to stay in Sikkim and give time here. My wife and kids have very well adjusted along with me. At the moment, my kids are too young and my younger kid is just four months hence my wife is busy looking after them." So does he miss staying away from the metro life and Baichung smiles, " It hardly makes a difference. It's just a few hours journey and I can be in Kolkata whenever I want to. I have shifted to Sikkim but that doesn't mean that I have left Kolkata forever. I'm still in touch with my friends and whenever I get the opportunity I do make a visit."
Ask Baichung whether he has any plans to write a book and he says, " I want to .. but honestly speaking had never thought about it. I would love to pen down all my experiences and may be someday seriously give a thought to write a book." Ask whether he has been approached by any filmmakers to do a movie on his life and Baichung laughs, " kaun aayega aur footballer par movie banaayega. I'm not a big person that any film producer would like to invest money on doing a story on me."
The UEFA EURO 2012 trophy was recently unveiled in the capital in the presence of former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia. We chatted up with the legendary sportsman and he excitedly said, "The trophy is brought to India for the first time. It's a great initiative and we will offer enthusiast footballers to experience the game." When asked how he felt being addressed as former Indian football captain and Baichung confesses, "Frankly, I had no regrets when I retired from the game. I had planned that I would retire but that doesn't mean that I would stop playing the game. I'm still active and have continued my passion for playing football but in a different format this time. I have formed my own club and have been grooming the young enthusiast footballers. Hence I would say the journey has just begun and it's not the end of the story. It hardly makes a difference if I'm addressed as former Indian captain. Yes, but initially I would feel a bit of pinch when media started addressing me as former Indian football captain immediately after my retirement. But that doesn't worry me at all. I feel a sportsman is always a sportsman whether you retire, play or not play. I have given my best and hope to do much better things that would help in promoting the game in future too."
When asked why he decided to shift along with his family from Kolkata to Sikkim? Baichung replies, "I moved to Sikkim now and have settled down there with my family, wife and three kids. I'm enjoying being back home. The main reason of shifting to Sikkim was because of my club activities. I felt that now it was more important to stay in Sikkim and give time here. My wife and kids have very well adjusted along with me. At the moment, my kids are too young and my younger kid is just four months hence my wife is busy looking after them." So does he miss staying away from the metro life and Baichung smiles, " It hardly makes a difference. It's just a few hours journey and I can be in Kolkata whenever I want to. I have shifted to Sikkim but that doesn't mean that I have left Kolkata forever. I'm still in touch with my friends and whenever I get the opportunity I do make a visit."
Ask Baichung whether he has any plans to write a book and he says, " I want to .. but honestly speaking had never thought about it. I would love to pen down all my experiences and may be someday seriously give a thought to write a book." Ask whether he has been approached by any filmmakers to do a movie on his life and Baichung laughs, " kaun aayega aur footballer par movie banaayega. I'm not a big person that any film producer would like to invest money on doing a story on me."
TOI
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