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Bikash Yumnam is the first and only Indian player to get featured in The Guardian’s Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football. Bikash, the teenage talented central defender is encapsulating the “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” mantra and gradually becoming the household name of Indian Football.
Minerva Academy FC are a club accustomed to relying on their production line of young talent and always focuses on youth development and training of the youth talents.
Minervan Bikash has got it all to become a top player in the future. The 17-year-old is composed on the ball also a great reader of the game and a smart defender who has a great physique and is a master in excellent, fast, long throw-ins who will only improve in the future. The Manipur born defender is a leader of the men even at this age and successfully led the Minervan U-15 squad to fourth successive Hero Junior League (U-15) title in 2019.
After winning the competition and continuing his way up through the youth teams at Minerva, he became a “name on the lips of many” in the academy. His progression was so rapid that he signed his first professional contract with the club after the campaign. His meteoric rise continued and he started to feature for the reserve squad frequently. To let him grow, the club has loaned him out to the AIFF developmental side Indian Arrows for the 2019/20 season, where he made nine appearances before the COVID -19 pandemic hit the league. Bikash is also a regular in the youth teams of India and featured in the 2018 U-16 AFC Championship and helped the team reach the quarterfinals without conceding a single goal in the group stage.
With the news breaking, a jubilant Minerva Academy FC owner Ranjit Bajaj stated, “it’s great news and brings me immense joy and pride that my boy Bikash got featured in such a prestigious list. It’s a matter of pride for me and Minerva and for the whole country perhaps as he is the first and only Indian player to get featured with lots of stars of tomorrow in world football. He has huge potential, everyone here appreciates him, he has the attributes to become a great player. He is a young player who of course will have to be protected, but at the same time should be given space to grow and reach his potential. He is a serious kid, always on time for training, and has a certain modesty but on the pitch, he leads the team and always wants to win as a team. He is an example for many in the academy and I hope we can produce such talents in years to come.”
Go to the article: The Guardian’s Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football
