Udaipur : 15-year-old Goalkeeper Sahil Poonia of Zinc Football Academy, a CSR initiative of Hindustan Zinc Limited, has been called up for the India Under-16 National Team Camp which is preparing for the upcoming SAFF Under-16 Championship to be held in Sri Lanka.
Born in Ladwa village in Hisar, Haryana, Sahil Poonia was rewarded with the national camp selection after his incredible contribution in Zinc Football Academy’s memorable exposure tour at Goa last week where they played three friendly matches against India U-16 National Camp Team, Dempo Sports Club (U-18) and Team Super 30, winning two and narrowly losing the final match against the national camp team.
The national scouts present in the final match were overwhelmed by the performance of the Hindustan Zinc’s team which led to the immediate selection of Poonia in the camp while a few more players from the academy are expected to be called up in the coming days.
Sahil’s father, a farmer and sole bread-earner of the family, is delighted after hearing the news of his son getting a chance to represent the country, which has been the ultimate dream of the whole family. Sahil Poonia gleefully reacted: “Firstly, I want to thank my parents for always allowing me to pursue my dreams. I would also like to thank all the coaches and staff at our Academy in Udaipur for grooming me well ever since I got selected in 2018. Special thanks to Hindustan Zinc for providing me the opportunity to pursue my dreams.”Zinc Football is a CSR initiative of Vedanta Hindustan Zinc to usher in a footballing revolution in Rajasthan. It is a one-of-its-kind grassroots development programme using football as a tool for social and community development and ensuring young kids have a platform to express themselves through football.
