Between representing India and life in America
Hi! This is Jay Sonthalia and I’ve taken over the Admin’s Desk to tell you about myself. I’m one of those PIO players who aim to represent India in the coming future. But, you know the mess.
Introducing myself, I am an 18-year-old goalkeeper from the United States (San Diego, CA). I currently play as a freshman at Columbia University in the Ivy League after playing for the LAFC Academy during my youth career. I view myself as a hardworking player and a person who will do anything to win. I come from a family very invested in the game of football, both my older brother and younger sister play and I have played since I was 5 years old. I grew up watching my brother play as a goalkeeper and gravitated toward the position from a young age.
Growing up in California was an amazing experience for me and some of the best players in the USA played their youth career in southern California. This is mainly because of the high level of coaching and MLS academies in the area. I personally grew up in San Diego but my family and I made the commute up to Los Angeles to play for the LAFC Academy. I’m extremely grateful to my family and all my coaches for helping me represent such a prestigious youth club as it allowed me to push myself to the next level.
Like I said before, one of the benefits of playing in college is the high level of games and training. The training environment is similar to a professional club.
Playing for the LAFC Academy allowed me to train parallel to the club’s first team and the facilities and experiences the club gave me were unreal. Some of my best moments came during our win in PKs against Brazilian club Flamengo in the Generation Adidas Cup or helping us reach the national semifinals later that year.
Multiple call-ups to United States national team training and centers were also possible because of the LAFC Academy. But the best memories I had at the club came at our training ground and on away trips, creating bonds with my teammates that will last throughout my life. I am going into my freshmen year at Columbia University and I’m on our men’s soccer team that plays in the Ivy League.
“De Gea is an emotion”
My favorite player growing up was David De Gea. I always looked up to him because of his struggles early on in Manchester and how he adapted and improved every day to become one of the world’s best.
I admired the way he carried himself. Even during the tough moments and tough seasons, he pushed past his mistakes, constantly being one of the best players at the club. Even though De Gea is currently going through a tough patch without a club I’m hoping he will be able to push past it like he has in the past.
“Heard about the situation with Triman (Ranvir)”
Recently, I heard about the situation with Triman Ranvir. It is very difficult for me to see these situations occur, especially with players of that quality who truly want to represent India. It’s a shame that becoming eligible to represent the Indian national team is a complicated process, it eliminates many talented players from being able to push the team to the next level.
Personally, I am still in the process of trying to gain my Indian citizenship. My mom was born and grew up in India before moving to the States and both sets of my grandparents lived in India most of their lives. While the process is complicated I am hoping that my support system and I can find a solution to allow me to represent India, the country that I identify the most with.
I view India as an up-and-coming footballing nation with so many young players wanting to represent the country at all levels. In addition to all of the talent within India, there are many talented players outside of India who could be eligible to play for the team as well. The ISL continues to grow every year and I believe that soon India will be able to compete with the world’s best footballing nations.
