An inspiring story - 3 Indian footballers making India proud in foreign clubs
XtraTime Web Desk: Right when we find football fans in the country lament over the unavailability of quality Indian football players who have the potential to play abroad, XtraTime.in takes a tour of three Indian footballers, who are now making India proud outside India. Sanjiv Stalin: The 19 years old youngster has signed a two-year contract with Portuguese club CD Aves and will turn up for their developmental side. If Stalin manages to impress the club officials, he will be able to make a smooth call up to their senior team, which regularly locks horns with top clubs in Portugal, like Benfica, Porto, and Sporting Clube de Portugal. Spending two years with the Indian Arrows in the I-League, Stalin trained at CD Aves, who play in Portugal's Liga Pro, and are currently battling relegation. Uttam Rai: The youngster once got the recognition to be one of the most charming prospects of Indian football. He was the answer of the question which has been commonly asked in Indian football these days, “Who will be the replacement of Sunil Chhetri?”. Unfortunately, Uttam never did justice to his sky-kissing potential. In the winter transfer window, Rai signed for Friends FC, who play in the top tier of Nepal. He scored four goals in eight matches for them and prevented them from being relegated. Ishan Pandita: Having spent his formative years in the Philippines, Ishan Pandita has established himself as a nomad in Spain's lower tiers. He impressed the Manchester United coaches in 2012 at an "Airtel Rising Star" event in Bengaluru and has never looked back. Three years later, he joined the U-18 side of UD Almeria for eight months, who then played in Spain's second tier, but Ishan's time got cut short after he suffered an injury. Then he penned a deal with the reserve side of Gimnastic de Tarragona in 2019. The senior side played in LaLiga II, whereas CF Pobla de Mafumet, their B team, played in the fourth tier of Spain. Having trained with them for around five months, he signed for another Tercera Division (Spain's fourth tier) club Lorca FC in the summer. In the 25 matches he has played for them, Ishan has scored six goals for his team.
