P.S. Sudarshan

Bangalore: Football fever has not subsided for this 12-year-old from Bangalore. P.S. Sudarshan was among the four children selected by ESPN Start Sports to be part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

"We got to watch the Croatia versus Australia match live. It was unbelievable. The best part was that both my parents were with me," he said.

ESPN Star Sports and Adidas, after a nationwide search spanning 1,200 schools, selected the four children to be the flag-bearers at a World Cup match. Shreshth Shah from Kolkata, Ajiteshwar Singh from Delhi and Sachit Kamlesh Yadav from Mumbai were the other children.

Before flying to Germany for the match, the four children went to meet President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. "Meeting the first citizen of our country was amazing. I never thought I would be able to. He asked us to become good citizens not only of the country, but of the world," Sudarshan said.

He said that they were then allowed to ask the President questions on subjects of their liking in a freewheeling discussion. "It was fun. I asked him how it feels to be President, and Mr. Kalam said it was a great privilege and honour to serve one's motherland. We then took his autograph and posed with him for photographs," he said.

About being a flag-bearer at the World Cup, he said that it was great feeling to be on the field alongside the footballers of Croatia and Australia. "In Stuttgart, Germany, we were taken around in an official vehicle," he said excitedly.

Sudarshan said that as soon as the team from India landed in Germany, the four children were given uniforms, two shirts, two pairs of shoes, a sweater, a raincoat, two caps and a bag that had to be taken to the stadium on the day of the match. Six children were assigned to one flag. Sudarshan said that there were a total of 66 children from all over the world, who had won different contests, on the field. "We had to rehearse with the flag and wait inside and then again in the tunnel leading to the field for about 20 minutes each," he said.

The players joined them just before going out into the field

Sudarshan said it was great fun to actually get a chance to be alongside international players and be with them on the same field, even if it was for a few minutes. "I will never forget that experience. I only regret the fact that we were not able to chat with the players. Nevertheless, it was a dream come true to watch a World Cup match live," he added.

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