17-year-old, Omang Dodum’s first ever official goal for country

Omang's joy knew no bounds when his name was read out in the line-up before India took on Sri Lanka in the SAFF under-19 football championship in Yupia (Arunachal Pradesh)

Hyderabad: His joy knew no bounds when his name was read out in the line-up before India took on Sri Lanka in the SAFF under-19 football championship in Yupia (Arunachal Pradesh).

For the 17-year-old, Omang Dodum had one of those dream-come-true experiences as he led the forward line in the first-ever international football tournament in front of home fans.

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Not surprisingly, Dodum, sporting the famous No 9 jersey, scored India’s fifth of the night and his first ever official goal for the country. Although he had scored for India in Europe in a friendly against German club Reutlingen in 2023, this was undoubtedly the most sensational moment of his young career.

“It was a dream to score in my home ground in front of my family. Many of my relatives and friends came from all over Arunachal just for this game,” said Dodum, who hails from Jollang village.

The main stand was a sea of blue. Most of them were Dodum’s near and dear ones who had thronged the stadium hours before kick-off. “When I learned that the SAFF Under-19 Championship would be held in Arunachal Pradesh, my first thought was that my family would watch me play for the national team. I’ll play in front of the home crowd. I never expected this. This is everyone’s dream,” Dodum informed AIFF media.

“The ball just came to me, and I set myself up and placed it in. I just had to get that goal. Scoring in such a superb atmosphere felt amazing. There were goosebumps. I felt like ‘finally’, this is the moment I had been waiting for as a number nine. I just wanted to hug my family,” said Dodum who thanks his father Kage Dodum (himself a footballer) for introducing him to the sport at the age of 11 in Kolkata Football Academy.

“After a couple of years, I participated in trials at the Chandigarh Football Academy and got selected. I also spent a few months at Sudeva Delhi FC. After that, I was picked by Punjab FC for their U15 team after successful trials. It’s been a fantastic few years at Punjab FC, winning the RFDL, playing the Next Gen Cup and getting promoted to the first team,” he shared.

As far as the blue of India is concerned, Dodum first joined the national camp in 2023 for the tour of Germany and Spain before the AFC U17 Asian Cup in Thailand, where he made two appearances against Vietnam and Uzbekistan. Graduating into the under-19 squad now, he awaits his first silverware for the country and what better place for that than the Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains.