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HIGHLIGHTS
Neil Taylor’s mother, Shibani Chakraborty , is a Bengali from Kolkata. The half-Welsh, halfIndian footballer is the closest to Indian involvement in Euro.
Neil had scored the second goal in a 3-0 thumping of Russia that enabled Wales top Group B and earn the debutant nation a place in the last 16 of Euro.
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New Delhi:
The comments on Neil Taylor’s official Facebook page are both euphoric and cheeky . One says, “Huw….if Ronaldo asks you to swap shirts, tell him to get stuffed…you only swap with goal scorers.” Another comment teases the 27-year-old left full-back on his first ever goal for Wales.”Neil. You scored. How.”
But for any Indian reading the 150 plus comments to Neil’s Monday night post, this one really catches the eye. “Well played lad! Proud of your Bengali origin! Lots of love & well wishes from Bangladesh.”
Neil had scored the second goal in a 3-0 thumping of Russia that enabled Wales top Group B and earn the debutant nation a place in the last 16 of Euro. He never scored for Swansea, the EPL side he plays for.
Not many know that Neil Taylor’s mother, Shibani Chakraborty , is a Bengali from Kolkata. The half-Welsh, halfIndian footballer is the closest to Indian involvement in Euro. As a child, Neil played cricket for his village side in north Wales though football is what he was always devoted to. “Sachin Tendulkar is a huge character and sportsman to me,” he once told The Independent newspaper.
In interviews to British newspa pers, Neil comes across as someone proud of his Indian roots. In 2013, he had visited Kolkata as part of a charity project, Kolkata Goalz, to promote the game among under privileged kids.Earlier as a nine-year-old he had visited the city -a trip to Eden Garden and playing with colours in Holi -being two indelible images of that visit. “What I remembered of the country was that it is just cricketmad. But when I went out this time I saw the change. It was monsoon and you couldn’t even take your feet out of the grass. Sopping! But all the young people were playing football,” he told the newspaper.
Late Monday night, Neil had posted, “What a feeling.. What a night in Toulouse!! The Wales fans were unbelievable, thank you for your support. A night to remember at Euro 2016!!” Neil began his career as a junior at Manchester City . But at 15, he joined the 152-year-old Wrexham, the oldest Welsh club and the third oldest in the world. He made his international debut against Croatia in 2010.
In an interview to BBC earlier this month, his mother said, “Ever since he was a child that’s all he’s wanted to do, play football. He mis sed all his school discos and friends’ birthday parties because, at that time, he was playing for Manchester City (junior team).We’d drive him three times a week to Manchester and back when he was about nine or 10 and not once did he say, ‘Mum, do I have to go?’ He used to sit in the back of the car and do his homework.”
A November 2015 BBC reports says that as people of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin form 5.3% of the 56 million population in England and Wales as per 2011 census. Yet Neil is just one of the seven Asian players with a professional contract in the top four English leagues.”Wolves centre-back Danny Batth and Mansfield left-back Malvind Benning are the only others from the group who play regular first-team football,” the report says.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Delhi / TNN / June 22nd, 2016