Dinker Chettri - Magic Feet And A Genius Mind
Those were the glory days of United Kurseong Football Club (UKFC). In the 90s they were a monumental force to be reckoned with. If I'm not mistaken, in one of the years in the late 90s, UKFC won every tournament they entered. Cable television was yet to make a significant entry into Indian homes and global football leagues had not yet captured the imagination of the youth. So we looked up to local players for inspiration and one such exceptional player who caught my imagination as a young boy was Dinker Chettri, who held together the midfield of UKFC for a long time. I saw him for the first time at my village ground in Rongo during the Gold Cup. UKFC in those days had a magnificent set of players like Dinker himself, Late Ladup Lama, Crispin Chettri, Jiten Rai and Ugen Lama, to name a few. Those blue jerseys and white half pants they wore also looked impeccable. I don't remember every match UKFC played but they were impressive throughout the tournament and eventually won it...