For someone who made his CFA senior division league debut four years ago, N.R. Vinoth Kumar hasn’t been able to capture the imagination of many in the Chennai football fraternity.
However, Vinoth has come of age with a stunning performance against table-toppers Indian Bank on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Coimbatore lad scored a brace to help his team AGORC claim the pole position by pushing the banking team to the second spot.
In a line-up that boasts names like P. Muthu, Jestes Antony and Doumbia Mamadou, it was always going to be hard to hog the limelight. Nevertheless, Vinoth announced his entry with a man-of-the-match performance. “Winning the best player’s award in CFA was unbelievable. It was something I was dreaming about for the past four years,” said Vinoth.
Vinoth, who has been playing as a winger for AGORC, started as a striker against Indian Bank in the absence of the inimitable Muthu. Asked if there was any pressure replacing the AGORC veteran, Vinoth replied: “There is no pressure on me as I am a forward myself. But I had a point to prove after failing against Central Excise in an earlier game. I was confident of scoring.”
Mean, lean and fighting fit, Vinoth also has excellent ball control that gives him the edge. With pace to burn as a wide midfielder or striker, Vinoth can swap his role according to the team’s demands. But being a striker, Vinoth found it hard to adapt while playing near the flanks. “Last year, it was a bit tough as I was trying to get accustomed to a new position. But I am a lot more confident this year. My senior teammates helped me a lot during this transition,” said Vinoth.
Vinoth was introduced to football by his uncle Shivakumar when he was in the tenth standard. After a few stints in Coimbatore’s lower division league, Vinoth made it to the senior division while playing for New Venus FC. “Hari Dayal sir was my first real coach at New Venus. He was the one who taught me the nuances of football,” said Vinoth, who was in the TN under-19 squad that travelled to play the junior national championship in Haryana five years ago.
Vinoth’s tryst with Chennai league happened when Anna Durai of SBI brought him to the city in 2008. After plying his trade with SBI for a year, Vinoth enrolled himself into a post-graduation course at the Hindustan University.
Abraham Varghese, former railway player and sports advisor of Hindustan University, who has seen Vinoth from close quarters observed: “Vinoth is a hard working player who gives a lot of importance on his fitness. The best trait about him is that he is always willing to learn. I am happy to see his progress this season. If Vinoth continues to play in the same vein, I am sure his name would be on the state team’s probable list.”
Vinoth added that he learnt a lot under senior players like Muthu and Anto. “The duo are a byword for discipline. They take each and every game seriously and they never lack even for a minute in the entire 90 minutes,” said Vinoth, who also thanked his manager K. Vijay Kumar and former AGORC goalkeeper Sarvana Kumar for their guidance.
The young footballer, who tries to model his game on the Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo, knows that these are early days and he would need to be a lot more consistent if he aspires to reach greater heights. And the first thing on hand is to help AGORC retain the title, “We are a strong unit and I am confident we will go on to win the title this year as well. For me, all that matters is that my team’s victory. Even if I am not able to score, I would be the happiest to send in a couple of goal-scoring assists,” concluded Vinoth.