This former U16 footballer now works as food delivery executive to support her family
People can go to any extent to ensure the well-being of their families. When the situation demands, they – at times – even need to sacrifice their passion and dream. A similar kind of story has come to light as a girl from West Bengal named Poulami Adhikary had to give up her professional football career in order to support her family. Now, she works as a delivery executive for the food delivery app Zomato. A local vlogger took a brief interview of her and a clip of the same was shared by a user on Twitter.
As stated by Poulami Adhikary, she has played both at national and international levels. She has also represented India at the U16 level and toured countries like the UK, Germany and Sri Lanka to play global tournaments. But a turnaround of fortune made her land in the situation she is going through now. Adhikary revealed that her father works as a driver but his salary is not enough to meet the needs of their family. Thus, she had to find a stable source of income.
The 24-year-old lost her mother at a very tender age and has an elder sister who is married. Adhikary is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree from Charuchandra College and now studying in her final (3rd) year. While being asked about her salary as a Zomato delivery partner, she mentioned, “Rs 300-400 per day.”
Since being dropped on the internet, the video has earned more than 45,000 views so far. It has also amassed nearly 2,000 likes on the microblogging site.
A person raised an important question saying, “Till we have this situation how can we aspire to produce world-class athletes and sportspeople? A country which cannot take care of its representatives in sports needs to introspect.”
A user pointed out the hype for cricket in India and wrote, “That’s very sad! Have seen this with so many other sports that are not cricket. From boxing to hockey and now football.”
An individual appreciated Poulami and noted, “This is good. Each profession should be respected. Only collectors saheb and Daroga babu should not be hyped.”
Apart from monetary struggle, injuries played a key role in limiting Adhikary’s career in football. She lacked access to adequate healing and rehabilitation facilities as an athlete. Despite working 12-hour a day as a delivery executive, the ex-India junior player still tries to carve out time to practise football, holding onto the hope that one day she might don the national kit once again.
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