Nilendra Dewan, A Striker from Darjeeling

The hills of Darjeeling is famous around the world for its scenic beauty and the high-quality tea it produces. The town also hits the headlines with regards to its struggle for a separate state of Gorkhaland on regular intervals. However, as a visitor to the Queen of Hills if you dig dipper there are more layers to this hill station. Darjeeling is also home to some top quality musicians and it will not be an overstatement to say 9 out of 10 people in Darjeeling can play the Guitar. 

Most of the positive aspects of Darjeeling has been overshadowed a bit in the recent past, football probably is one of them. Once a very popular sport with the town hosting the Brigade of Gorkha's Gold Cup or simply The Darjeeling Gold Cup. Top teams from across the country used to come and participate in this tournament. Darjeeling has also produced a number of talented footballers over the years. This is a story of one of them who is somewhat in the shadows in the present times. This player went all the way to the continental level representing East Bengal in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup which rather went unnoticed. 

A boy was born in the year 1986 to Mr. Robert Dewan and Mrs. Elizabeth Lepcha and was named Nilendra Dewan. He has 2 siblings one elder brother and a sister. Nilendra quickly developed a liking for football and started to play the game from a very young age. He went to St Michael's School and was also selected in Sports Authority of India. He was the captain of his school team and at 14 years of age, he played in the Darjeeling Gold Cup. The young boy was made for other sports too like Basketball, Volleyball, and Badminton. He was very good at athletics and participated in 100 meters, 200 meters, and long jump. He won a Gold Medal at the district level in 200 meters. 

Slowly football started to capture his imagination more and Nilendra got serious about it and joined Tarun Khel Kudh Sangh (TKKS) one of the top clubs of Darjeeling. With TKKS he played in a number of tournaments and gained experience. Then slowly Nilendra's journey into professional football started and after completing his training at Sports Authority of India, he joined United Sikkim FC in 2004. "Bhaichung Bhutia (Agya) inspired me a lot and also guided me. Back then I was still very young and I consider myself lucky to get  Agya's support at such a crucial time in my career" remembered Nilendra. Then he went on to play for Peerless Club (Kolkata), Indian Bank (Chennai), Eastern Railways (Kolkata), and in 2007 went to Kathmandu, Nepal, and donned the jersey of Sankata Club and the very next year he signed for Friends Club. Here Nilendra ended the season as the highest scorer. In 2009 he came back to Kolkata and joined BNR Club and played a season with them. 

By the start of 2010, Nilendra had gained a lot of confidence as a striker and this boy from Darjeeling joined one of the top Indian clubs, Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata. While at the club he was selected to play for the West Bengal team in the prestigious 64th Santosh Trophy in the summer of 2010. Nilendra was impressive throughout the tournament scoring 2 goals but unfortunately got injured and missed the Final, however, Bengal won the tournament after 11 years and Nilendra had written his name in the States football history. "I was over the moon when the final whistle was blown and we had won 2-1 against Punjab. I felt really proud and became emotional too. I thought along with my state I had made the hills of Darjeeling proud." He said flipping through the photos and newspaper cutting of that historic day. What followed was even more memorable, all the players and coach Shabbir Ali were treated like heroes and for more than 2 weeks they were attending felicitation functions all across the city. Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee also organized a special program to honor the team on behalf of the West Bengal Government.

Nilendra spent 2011-12 with Southern Samity FC in the city of joy again, then next year, 2013 signed to play for East Bengal, one of India's top and the best-known club with a huge fanbase. With the Red and Golds he played in many prestigious tournaments and won the Kolkata League title twice. In the I-League table, the team was ranked second. Next was the AFC Cup, the Asian equivalent of the Europa Cup. This was a huge achievement for a simple boy from the hills of Darjeeling, playing for the top team of India in the continental league. Later Nilendra also participated in the IFA Shield and Federation Cup with East Bengal. Other major tournaments he has taken part representing various teams are Santosh Trophy, Sikkim, Martyr's Memorial A Division League, Kathmandu, King's Cup Bhutan. Nilendra has also won a number of individual awards and honors like in the Man of the tournament in Subarna Samsher, Kathmandu and Man of the match in the I-League against Shillong Lajong. 

In 2015, Nilendra left East Bengal and joined Southern Samity once again and his last outing was as a Player cum Assistant Coach for Friends Club Kathmandu.

"I had a lot of offers from other big clubs across the country during my peak but injuries stopped me from taking the plunge. I also had the dream of playing for India but that never materialized. If I had remained free from injury and got the support I think I could have donned the national team jersey looking at the quality of some fellow players." Said Nilendra looking rather dejected. He further added that he never got the support he needed in his home town Darjeeling as well. He was on his own as the senior players or the Association member never guided or advised him. Yes, it's sad to hear all this from a player who has achieved so much. These days Nilendra is trying his best to do something for the development of football in the hills. He has completed All India Football Federation (AIFF) D License coaching course and plans to encourage more youngsters to play football.

"If I had got a qualified coach and right training when I was young I would have probably gone even higher. I worked hard but didn't get the support. So I always pray that none of the players should suffer from injuries and I ask God to keep them far from it". Signed off Nilendra with a smile on his face. This was such a selfless thought from him- prayers for footballers whom he doesn't even know, maybe Nilendra also needed our prayers during his playing career.