Calcutta: Jitendra Singh feels the junior World Cupper tag will rest easy on him.

“Initially, I was excited about playing the junior World Cup. Now as the D-Day is nearing, I am realising it’s more about responsibility. Playing for the country in a World Cup brings in a lot of accountability.

“This is the first time our country will host a Fifa World Cup and also it’s the first time we will be playing in that tournament. Even Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chetri never played a World Cup. So, for us, it’s big chance to drive home a point,” the 16-year-old Charu Market resident said from Margao.

Clubbed with the United States, Colombia and Ghana, it will be a big surprise if Luis Norton de Matos’s boys cross the group stage. “There are a lot of expectations from us. We will give our best.

“I do not know how far we will go, but one thing I do know is that we will not give up without a fight,” Jitendra said.

A very promising defender, who is hailed as someone to serve the senior national team for a long time, Jitendra is expected to be the mainstay of the defence during India’s U-17 campaign. So, who is more important in a team? A defender or a striker?

“I think a last-minute winner is as important as a goal-line save. Football matches are won by defending resolutely… That’s the most important part of football. A striker may grab headlines, but a defender helps you earn points,” Jitendra said.

His parents are from Almora, Uttarakhand, but he is born and brought up in Bengal. “I was born in Khardah and was enrolled in the Surya Sen Nagar Sporting Club. I was six years old when my parents shifted to Calcutta.

“I started playing in Avenue Sammilani and in 2013 when the Bengal trials for the AIFF Academy took place, I got selected. Since then I am with the Academy,” he informed.

A Chelsea fan, Jitendra idolises Arturo Vidal, Bayern Munich’s Chilean player. “Vidal is my hero. Chetri is also a player I draw inspiration from,” he said.

Son of a watchman, Jitendra hopes football will help him to give his parents and two brothers and a sister a better future. One of his brothers is also in the Minerva Football Academy.

Jitendra, though, has one wish. “I want my family to come to New Delhi and watch me play... At least our first match (against the United States on October 6). Otherwise they will watch it live on Sony.”