Mumbai: Indian sports, it is said, has been suffering as politicians, bureaucrats continue to run the show. But what if those politicians birth gems for the sports arena, literally?
Here, in Mumbai, a politician’s son is making waves in the inter-school sports in different disciplines. Meet Siddharth Dutt, the elder son of Priya Dutt and Owen Roncon, who has been bouncing in and out of the living room. In fact, with his impressive outing both in athletics and football, he is now grabbing the attention of many sports pundits.
“Having played the game since he was in the first standard, there is no two way about this VIII-standard student as he is equally good when it comes to academics,” says Siddharth’s coach Chanchal Singh, who has seen this kid since he took to the field for the first time of his life.
Siddharth has been the main striker for the Dhirubhai Ambani who went on to win the MSSA Div III championship this year.
“He is outstanding and that is the best part of this boy,” adds Singh about Siddharth who went on to score two of four goals in his Dhirubhai Ambani’s 4-0 win against St Lawrence High School in the quarter-final of MSSA Division III boys under-16 inter-school football, earlier in the championship.
Incidentally, out of the six matches Siddharth has played, he has scored four goal for his team.
It is not just football, Siddharth is equally good when it comes to sprint events (400m) and soon after this final, he took off to Ratnagiri for the state athletic championship - but was unlucky to have missed the podium, despite leading in the first 300 metres of the race.
"He would have won the medal , but a cramp in the last 100 metres cost him a medal," said his coach.
“He is young and fit, we are sure he will win medals and make our school and his parents proud,” said Singh, a former Indian Navy goal-keeper, who has played in the Harwood league in the city.
“He (Siddharth) is very agile and has a better vision of the game. This is the reason he finds himself in the right place at the right time and is the best striker,” said Singh about the lad who has been the main livewire of the football team.
