Indian-origin players have always been in the conversation to feature for the Indian national team and many have tried to get eligible for it. Triman Ranvir, a footballer from Belgium, also has roots in India and dreams about playing for the nation one day. However, unlike most other players who show their desire for mere publicity, the story of the 18-year-old is different. Triman carries a real ambition in him and above all love for Indian football to be part of it one day.
Footballers like Yan Dhanda who plied his trade in the Championship in England and Omid Singh from Iran have expressed their intentions to play for the national team one day but neither has complied to give away their citizenship of their country of residence which is required to earn an Indian passport. In India, having a dual-citizenship is not allowed and these players also were hesitant to leave the luxury of playing in the top leagues of their respective countries.
The situation for Triman is different here. Despite playing in one of the higher-ranked nations in the world, he feels Belgium does not give equal respect to players with different origins and that the passion in the European nation is not the same as in India. The love from the supporters of the 106th FIFA-ranked country has motivated him to play football here.
“In India, I am always an Indian,” Triman Ranvir said in an exclusive interview with Chase your Sport, “But in Belgium, I am not always a Belgian. I remember a quote by Lukaku saying ‘When I play well I am a Belgian and when I don’t play well I am a Congolese’. I have got much love from Indian football fans and I have started receiving more love from them. I haven’t received that type of appreciation from Belgium. In India, the passion is more than that of Belgium”
Triman explains his journey as he started playing football at a very young age along with his friends which ultimately led him to start his career.
“My journey began at the age of 6 or 7 and I used to play in my school at break time with my friends. After a few years, my schoolmates invited me to join their local team and I joined my first club at the age of 11 years for Sk Kampelaar where some of my friends used to play.”
Triman has played in multiple countries across Europe. Aside from Belgium, he has played football in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Finland, Slovenia and also in Sweden. Now, he sets his eyes to play for India and become a top professional in the near future. The prospect also shared his experience of meeting with Ranjit Bajaj, owner of the Minerva Academy which has gone on to produce a lot of players for the Indian football team. Bajaj liked what he saw in Triman and urged him to take the passport for India.
“It was a nice experience meeting him (Ranjit Bajaj) and he is really a nice person. He allowed me to stay at Minerva academy and I stayed in the hostel for a week. I enjoyed my time very well and am glad to have had the opportunity to experience Indian football first-hand. After returning from India, I had the Spain trip in which I scored 6 goals and had 2 assists in 5 matches. I sent him my performances and video clips of them. He was really impressed and said to apply for an Indian passport and play in India.”
Not only that, Triman has a great interest in Indian football and he looks up to some of the well-known stars of the country. It is not left to guess that the Indian Men’s team captain is among his favourites and that he wants to be like him one day.
“My idols are Sunil Chettri and Manvir Singh because they are great footballers. Chettri is the best striker India has ever seen and I want to be the next Sunil Chettri one day. I also like Manvir Singh because he is a forward like me and also a Punjabi.” He also likes to watch Brazilian star Neymar who made him enjoy the game.
Triman’s parents are both Indian, born in Punjab and raised in the country. They belonged to the city of Jalandhar in the state and he is from the Karnana village in the municipality of Nawanshahr. Triman will arrive in India in March 2023 to take his citizenship and quickly get involved with playing the sport he loves in his homeland. We wish him all the very best.
