In a country obsessed with cricket, talented sportspersons from other fields often find it hard to get the recognition that even very ordinary cricketers get. Some exceptions to this unfortunate trend include Viswanathan Anand in chess, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in tennis, P.T. Usha and Milkha Singh in athletics, Dhanraj Pillay and Dhyan Chand in hockey, and Baichung Bhutia in football.<\/p>\n
But football fans who follow Indian soccer religiously also swear by another name: I.M. Vijayan.<\/p>\n
Born on 25 April 1969 in Kerala\u2019s Thrissur town, Inivalappil Mani Vijayan grew up under impoverished circumstances. After the death of his father, he was brought up by his mother. Sometimes even the next meal would be uncertain, and to lend a helping hand to the family, he did odd jobs like selling soda bottles.\u00a0But he knew how to kick a ball on the streets of Thrissur. And it was from these streets that he was picked up for his talent by the former Kerala DGP and sports lover M.K. Joseph. Rags to riches<\/strong><\/p>\n Subsequently, coaches such as T.K. Chathunny moulded him and he soon found a place in the then famous Kerala Police team.<\/p>\n In an interview in May 2000 to the Sportstar<\/em> magazine, on the eve of the Santosh Trophy tournament which was being held in Thrissur for the first time, Vijayan recalled: \u201cIn 1982, when I was just 12 years old, I was involved with the Santosh Trophy, but in a different way. I used to sell sodas to the crowd in the stadium. The purpose was twin-fold: help my mother keep the hearth at my hut burning and more importantly see all the matches. Otherwise, I would not have been able to afford a ticket. Now, I have this opportunity to play before my home crowd and this I think is nothing but God-send.\u201d<\/p>\n After a childhood spent in hardship, when he received his first salary from Kerala Police, an overwhelmed Vijayan ended up crying.<\/p>\n He impressed immediately at the Quilon Nationals in 1987. He played for Kerala Police till 1991.<\/p>\n T.P. Gopinath, the then DIG in charge of sports, and the former Police team coach A.M. Sreedharan also helped him in the early stages of his career. In the 1990s, Vijayan played in several teams, including Mohun Bagan, Kerala Police, JCT Mills Fagwara and FC Kochin. Between 2000 and 2006 he was part of East Bengal Club, JCT Mills Phagwara and Churchill Brothers.<\/p>\n He played for the Indian national squad in tournaments such as the Nehru Cup, pre-World Cup, SAAF Cup and SAF Games. He scored some 40 goals in his international career. The first footballer from Kerala to win the Arjuna Award, he was also named \u2018Best footballer of the year\u2019 in 1993, 1997 and 1999.<\/p>\n He captained India and played some 80 matches for the country from 1989 to 2003.<\/p>\n A respected player\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Along with Bhutia, Vijayan was the Indian player to watch out for in the 1990s. As Rahul Bhutani, the editor of Indian football at TheHardTackle Inc., wrote, \u201c[Vijayan\u2019s] lightening pace, pinpoint volleys, quick dribbling skills and trademark turnarounds made him a sought after player in the national team irrespective of who the coach was. Vijayan was on song in the 1999 SAFF Cup where he scored two hat-tricks as well \u2014 the first in India\u2019s 5-2 demolition of Pakistan and another in India\u2019s 3-0 rout of Bhutan which included a goal after just 12 seconds from start.\u201d<\/p>\n Vijayan married Raji in 1994. The couple have three children \u2014 Archana, Aromal and Abhirami. The footballer later took to coaching and running a football academy.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a sport that has a lot of armchair enthusiasts (especially when it comes to the World Cup) but suffers from a lack of grassroots support, Vijayan\u2019s rise through the ranks from childhood poverty to one of the most regarded Indian footballers of the modern era is a success story to be cherished.<\/p>\n Also on this day:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1943 \u2014 Prameela Devi, south Indian actress, was born\u00a0<\/p>\n 1968 \u2014 Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Hindustani classical vocalist, passed away\u00a0<\/p>\n Reference:<\/p>\n WBSKA250414<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a country obsessed with cricket, talented sportspersons from other fields often find it hard to get the recognition that even very ordinary cricketers get. Some exceptions to this unfortunate trend include Viswanathan Anand in chess, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in tennis, P.T. Usha and Milkha Singh in athletics, Dhanraj Pillay and Dhyan Chand in hockey, and Baichung Bhutia… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history"],"yoast_head":"\n
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