New Delhi: The historic News9’s Indian Tigers and Tigresses initiative has provided an opportunity to young football enthusiasts in the country to live and fulfill their dreams. It’s difficult for boys and girls at a tender age to think big and subsequently, walk on the track of achieving the milestone but TV9 Network’s football scouting event has made the impossible possible.
A talent hunt which started with a record 50,000 registrations has reached the stage where a group of final 28 students would be travelling to Austria to train and elevate their football skills with the best in the business. Rigorous trials that took place over a month in different states of the country helped in unearthing the best talent who will finally get an opportunity to train with specialised European trainers from March 30, getting an exposure of a lifetime.
Neelmegh Hadolikar – 12-year-old who breathes football
For a 12-year-old boy like Neelmegh Hadolikar who literally breathes football, it’s a dream come true as his desire of becoming a football player and representing India in future is finally getting the right shape. On Friday, the privileged 28 boys and girls, including Hadolikar, got an opportunity to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at TV9 Network’s Global Summit ‘What India Thinks Today’ (WITT 2025). The students shared the stage with PM Modi who in return blessed them and also clicked a picture with them along with other officials of the media network.
Meanwhile, for a regular school-goer like Hadolikar, who studies at the Orchid International School, the switch from morning (when he attend school) to evening (when he trains) is quite difficult but he manages to do it with utmost confidence. Such is his passion for the sport that he not just trains in one academy but two football academies in Mumbai. Unlike many others in the group who do not come from privileged backgrounds, Hadolikar does not have to think of the basics as his father is a lawyer, who juggles between his legal work and son’s dreams.
He gets an unwavering support from his family in pursuing the dream where his father, after finishing his office work, drives him to training every day ensuring he never misses a session. For Neelmegh, playing football is not just a dream but a promise he has made to himself and his family and aims to fulfill it with aid from the Austria chance provided by TV9 Network.
Neelmegh will travel to Austria and get a chance to sharpen his skills and take a next step towards his goal of playing for India.
Talented footballer Neelmegh Hadolikar is set to travel to Austria for football training as part of News9’s Indian Tigers and Tigresses initiative. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
