Kumaresan, football inseparable

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Very few sportspersons get louder applause and more satisfaction in work after retirement than during their playing days. Former Tamil Nadu and Indian Bank footballer J. Kumaresan belongs to the elite group.

Kumaresan, who had racked up many an accomplishment during his successful stint with Indian Bank for over a decade, has now gone on to make a seamless transition to coaching.

He was still very much in his prime when injuries to both his knees in 2005 took a toll and consequently brought the curtains down on a fruitful career rather prematurely.

Kumaresan was determined to carry on doing what he did best, but his injury was so severe that he was compelled to pull the plug on his career.

Among a slew of achievements, Kumaresan’s best moment came in 1992. Allying with another of Tamil Nadu’s redoubtable strikers in Syed Sabir Pasha, with whom he forged a menacing partnership, he helped TN reach the semifinals of the Santosh Trophy.

Football enthusiasts across the country took note of his goal-scoring prowess when he tormented the Rajasthan defence on his way to notching up a hat-trick.

On the strength of his stupendous effort against Rajasthan, Kumaresan became a household name in TN and it wasn’t long before he became a crowd favourite wherever he went.

Speaking to this paper, Kumaresan took a stroll down memory lane recalling some of the high-points of his illustrious career.

“Getting to play for my state for nearly 13 years and sharing the dressing room with great players such as Hamilton Bobby and Sabir were some of the memories that I treasure.

I can take pride in saying that I was an integral part of the all-conquering Indian Bank team in the mid 90s when we won a host of trophies.

I also scored the decisive goal against Al Baniyas, a Saudi Arabian team, in the Scissors Cup. My performance in that match went a long way in making me a recognisable face,” says Kumaresan.

Following his retirement, Kumaresan took to management and earned an AFC ‘C’ licence in 2007.

Eager to give something back to the game which made him what he is, Kumaresan started an academy called Central Public Work Department FA at Thirumangalam.

Chief among the academy’s objectives is to nurture and groom budding players. “We handpick more than 50 students every year for training.

The camp is held on Sundays. We provide free kit and serve food without charging money. The camp is service oriented.

Former Customs player Ravichandran and AGORC player Gopalakrishnan assist me in running the camp. The boys that we select belong to the U-13 and U-18 age group.

“Seven of my former trainees have represented TN at the national level. Our academy recently won the U-15 Trinity cup for the second successive year.

A large chunk of the students we select are from Kendriya Vidyalaya in Anna Nagar,” added Kumaresan.

He lauded Vaidyalingam, principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya, for readily granting permission to organise the camp on the school premises.