FOOTBALL FEAT: Chiraag Paul trains for the Championship

Calcutta boy Chiraag Paul will turn out from next month for English club Nottingham Forest, which plays in the division just below the Premier League.

The £1,500-a-week contract, though modest by European standards, has made the lad from Survey Park, Santoshpur, the first Indian to reach as far as the second tier of English professional football, The Championship. Bhaichung Bhutia, the biggest name in domestic football, played for Second Division outfit Bury FC a few years ago.

An India call-up is next on Chiraag’s agenda because that would not only be an honour, but also make his goal of playing in the Premier League easier to achieve.

“It’s a massive break for me, since I was out of football for almost a year and had to undergo two major operations to fix nagging knee and ankle injuries. I had feared I wouldn’t get a second chance, but now that this deal has happened, I’m praying I can stay healthy over the coming season,” Chiraag, who turned 20 this May, told Metro from Nottingham.

There were offers from Premiership heavyweights Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs, too, but accepting either of these would have meant being in the reserves. Chiraag chose Nottingham Forest, which got promoted from League One to The Championship last season, because “it would give me more match exposure”.

The fact that he is based in Nottingham influenced his decision. “I was already studying sports science and medicine at Nottingham University. I’m expected to play four to five matches for the reserves outfit at the beginning of the season and then switch to first-team action, according to indications from club manager Colin Calderwood,” Chiraag said.

The Nottingham club has under its belt two consecutive European Cup victories, along with the domestic title and two FA Cup and four League Cup wins.

Chiraag’s journey began three years ago when he become the first Asian to get “a full and unconditional scholarship” to study and train for a professional football career in England. But the midfielder’s mission was almost cut short when he seriously injured his right knee in February last year while training for his Premiership debut for Birmingham City Football Club. The Midlands club had organised a full scholarship for him to study the BTEC National Diploma in Sports Studies at South Birmingham College.

“It was an unexpected call-up for first-team action by (then Birmingham) manager Steve Bruce, and Chiraag was simply shattered by the injury. He thought he’d never realise his ultimate dream of playing Premiership football alongside his idol Paul Scholes, since Birmingham didn’t renew his reserves contract after that,” said Chiraag’s mother Arunima.

Calcutta-based orthopaedic surgeon Vikas Kapoor, who performed arthroscopic surgery on the troublesome ankle last year, and Chennai-based sports medicine specialist P. Kannan guided Chiraag back to match fitness.