For those who are inspired by John Farnworth’s juggling techniques, the capital hosted the Red Bull Street Style tournament, at the Underdoggs Sports Bar & Grill, Ambience Mall on Saturday. The platform for freestylers to showcase their skills brought to light the need to give the sport a better reach.
“It’s a global trend that has come to India and continues to grow. Red Bull Street Style is one of the first events that has formalised the sport of freestyle football into a competition. With the competition now in five football crazy cities, there’s far more participation from footballers as well as spectators. It is evident that the quality of Indian freestyle football is improving. India already has a world record holder in Archis Patil who holds the record for shoulder spin,” says a spokesperson from Red Bull India.
Freestyle footballer Archis Patil feels it’s time to encourage more such tournaments to help avid players come to the fore.
“We should have more tournaments that help young freestylers like me to fulfill their passion for this creative sport. Also, freestylers across the country should form communities which can tour the country, performing tricks. The popularity of the sport will increase only when more people become aware of it,” he adds.
Delhi participant Manik, who has been freestyling for five years, claims that contrary to the belief earlier that the sport was just to flaunt one’s football skills, it is now developing as a sport in India. “I train a couple of kids who are interested in freestyling. If we do well, we can compete at international levels too,” he says.