If he keeps his feet firmly on terra firma, young midfielder Dhaanushan Raveenthiran will go places, surely.
During the recent Piala KPM Under-14 final (that's the Piala Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia or the Education Ministry Cup), Dhaanushan's two goals and his commanding presence in the engine room earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) title.
Understandably, he has been called up for duty under national Under-17 coach Ong Kim Swee. But wait a minute...how old is he?
He turned 13 a few months ago. But armed with the technique, composure and assuredness beyond his tender years, Dhaanushan has been fast-tracked into the older category.
Kim Swee had little hesitation in pencilling in the Klang lad's name in the squad, probably primed for the Asian Under-19 qualifiers next year.
"Dhaanushan is adapting himself well playing and training alongside physically superior colleagues," said the former Malacca, Sarawak and Sabah defender who played in the Hiroshima Asian Games in 1994.
Kim Swee happened to be the chief coach of TV3 reality programme Soccerkids shown ahead of the Euros in June, where Dhaanushan was one of those who impressed the panel of coaches. Since then Kim Swee has been keeping tabs on Dhaanushan's progress.
Born on February 18, 1995, Dhaanushan is currently attached to the Selangor football school at Seksyen 11 in Shah Alam but I suspect it would not be too long before he is enrolled at the Bukit Jalil Sports School, where the best young footballers in the country gather, train, play and travel together under the auspices of both the Education and Sports Ministries plus of course the FA of Malaysia.Among those who had gone through the system are Perak keeper Nasril Nourdin, the Negri Sembilan twins Mohd Aidil Zafuan and Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak, Selangor's Safiq Rahim and Amirulhadi Zainal, Perlis' Ridzuan Othman and Johor FC's Nurul Azwan Roya.
Apart from impressing the Soccerkids selectors, Dhaanushan was a member of the Scomi MyKids team that pitched their tent at Manchester United last year. He was also skipper of the Yamaha Selection team coached by Razali Alias that competed in Vietnam last month.
Dhaanushan may have inherited his footballing genes from his father, Raveenthiran Sangaran, who used to play for Port Rangers.
"He has been picked for competitive games since he was 10, playing at district, State and national level. He has been playing in our house, breaking things and causing havoc since the age of four. We have high hopes on Dhaanushan to make the grade," said Raveenthiran.
My two sens? Dhaanushan must fly the nest. He must broaden his horizons and seek the opportunity to play outside Malaysia. Perhaps Raveenthiran can try speaking to former FA of Malaysia bigwigs, Datuk Paul Mony Samuel and Datuk Yap Nyim Keong. They have the contacts. Don't let Dhaanushan's talent go to waste. He is at the crucial age where people managing his talent must chart the right path for him.
Also read my take here Soccerkids on TV3 part deux
10 comments:
the poor father to contact big wigs huh? why not the other way round?
bro, it's not easy to have access to bigwigs! that's reality if you're a nobody (no offense to his dad and family). What's FAM or FAS role here?
a rare gem like this and not one soul care to chart his future? or at least advise his family.
Had this boy being born in Africa, he would've been shipped to europe by now.
Yes, it's along and winding road there, there is no guarantee he will cut it but at least give him the chance to try.
kajang-today
well kajang, that's true...but a little bit of initiative will not hurt. there are those in fam who care and believe this kid has what it takes to make the grade. I've seen him play and he's not bad. If all else fails, kajang and loose cannon will pay the bigwigs a visit lah
whose initiative? those in power or those layman on the street? double edged sword, don't you think?
meeting big wigs? no problem, azalina would be a good choice!
as former sport's minister, sure she has connections too, england perhaps.
howzat?
kajang-today
bro
dia kalau nak bagus kita letakkan dia kat mana-mana club di england, jangan jadi macam pemain yg kita hantar kat france dah la, apa sumbangan titus to our football
kalaiu budak ni nak harapkan fam i dont think so dia boleh gi jauh
take my words
Bro,
Saya salah seorang penonton(?) pada Final U14 tu. memang budak ni ada bakat.
Masalahnya, Pahang yang dihadapi masa final tu bukan tandingan Selangor.
Kena lawan team lain yang lebih mencabar untuk melihat sejauh mana kemampuan budak ni.
Pls go and make your name my boy. Bro, your list of products from SSBJ pretty impressive lah...all first class footballers. For a school that's been 10 years old..so far nothing to show .....except glamour and oops I forgot Hockey Junior League cheats....
Firstly its an excellent write-up on this local talent Rizal. Personally I think our nation have a fundamental problem in recognizing and harnessing talent, regardless of the sport. That is why people like you play a very important role in highlighting such talents. With reference to the recently concluded Olympic, you can clearly see that smaller and poorer nations fared much better then Malaysia, and I believe we don't really have to dig deep to find out the reasons. I can understand the parent's anxiety in helping his son achieve his dreams. It would really be a waste if this talent goes unnoticed, especially when he is at the ripe age for further greatness. Instead of asking the father to see some bigwigs, I think SCOMI being fully aware of this talent used use him as a brands ambassador just like how Milo used Nicol David and sponsor this boy as long as he delivers. If corporate companies comes forward I am sure many talents would also come forward. We simply don't know how much talents that has gone the wayside due to unavailability of support and guidance.
I sure wish Dhaanushan Raveenthiran all the best and hope he really does make it and make our nation proud.
Sugenthiran Somoo
Thank you Mr Sugenthiran. I agree. We hope the corporate captains out there realise we do have talent to be nurtured and "marketed". But FAM, due to its contacts, naturally is in the best position to speak to potential sponsors and suitors and market their products. When I initiated Akmal Rizal's stint to France in 1999, there was little response from the corporate sector. Surely you cannot expect me to seek for assistance on his behalf. But at the same time there was a big hooha on Titus James' trip to France that a sports brand, a soft drink company and many more quickly jumped on the bandwagon. The mainstream Press too gave him column inches. In contrast there was no coverage for Akmal at all, except for the Malay Mail. Little financial but huge moral support from FAM especially its then deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. Akmal spent two years in Strasbourg, playing for third division FR Haguenau apart from training with Racing Strasbourg and was even highlighted by French newspapers and France Football magazine. He made his debut for the national team at the age of 19, scoring two goals against Hong Kong in only his second international match in the pre-World Cup. Where is Titus now?
yes,yes,yes
itu yang saya nak katakan buat bro where is titus
been call up to national team 3 kali tapi cara latihan tak bersungguh-sungguh and boleh bagi reasons yang dia kena berikan tumpuan pada kelab dia di france untuk off seasons masa tu
so apa dah jadi kalau pemain di panggil untuk berkhidmat untuk negara adakah ini sama dengan pemain yg di gantung untuk menghadirkan diri di klinik bolasepak IR
sama-sama kita fikir-fikirkan, sama-sama kita ingatkan
kemana hala tuju bolasepak kita, ke mana hendak kita letakkan harga diri sebagai pemain kebangsaan yang berwarganegarakan Malaysia
sama-sama kita ingat
Bro,
This para:
"Born on February 18, 1995, Dhaanushan is currently attached to the Selangor football school at Seksyen 11 in Shah Alam but I suspect it would not be too long before he is enrolled at the Bukit Jalil Sports School, where the best young footballers in the country gather, train, play, travel together (AND LOSE IT ALL) under the auspices of both the Education and Sports Ministries plus of course the FA of Malaysia."
Ok, I made some corrections.
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