He ran like lightning, preventing rivals Chaibasa from scoring at least six goals against his team, Bamnipal from Odisha.
Though his team lost 1-2 in the semi-finals of Under-10 football tournament at Armoury Ground in Bistupur, Jamshedpur, on Thursday, Govindo Murmu was the champion of champions.
All of nine, the spunky defender lost his right hand some years ago in a freak accident. But, if fate dealt him a hard hand, it made Govindo more determined about chasing his football dream.
The boy from Rasol village in Keonjhar district, Odisha, had accidentally touched a 4,000W low-hanging power cable at a farm where his father worked. Rushed to a hospital in Cuttack, his doctors told his horrified father they had no other option but to amputate his burnt hand.
" Maine taar ko chhu liya tha. Pura haath jal gaya. Bahut dard hua tha (I had touched the cable and my hand was burnt. I was in great pain)," Govindo told The Telegraph on Thursday after the match.
But, his smile showed he had got over that trauma. " Yahan aakar bahut achha laga (Felt good coming here)."
Govindo started playing in his village Rasol. But now, is being groomed under coach Manas Tudu at Tangiriapal Under-10 training centre in Kendujhar district.
He attended selection trials conducted by Tata Steel Under-10 football training centres at Tangiriapal and Rasol in August 2014.
The defender is clear about his goal. " Achha football khiladi banna hai taki mujhe naukri mil sakey. (I want to be a good footballer)," said the Class VI student of Khilari Upper and Primary School in Rasol.
Coach Tudu said he admitted they were sceptical about Govindo, not because of anything else but "balancing the body with one hand is tough". "In football, you have to run, act and react very fast. We wondered if Govindo could do it."
Observing him for three months, the coach changed his mind. "Govindo impressed us with his body balance and physical fitness, so we inducted him in the Tangiriapal centre," he said.
Assistant executive at Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) in Bamnipal Prashant Kumar Bal said they were training 50-odd boys at two football training centres in Tangiriapal and Rasol. "Govindo is improving by leaps and bounds," he said.
