SRINAGAR: A 17-year-old Kashmiri footballer has earned a rare honor after he was named in The Guardian’s list of 60 best young talents in world football.
Suhail Ahmad Bhat represents the Indian Arrows football club. “This hard-working striker was identified as one of the brightest talents in the Kashmir region even before he was a teenager. Willing to run at defenders and full of self-belief, he has excelled at every youth level he has been thrown into so far – scoring on his Under-16 debut for India against the United Arab Emirates in 2021 – meaning that there are high hopes that the 17-year-old will eventually be the long-term successor of India’s striking legend Sunil Chhetri,” The Guardian said.
Top young players from different countries have made it to the coveted list. They include Mx Capoto from Melbourne City FC, Australia, Matheus Goncalves from Falmenga FC, Brazil. and Martin Georgiev of Barcelona FC.
Born on April 8, 2005, Suhail currently plays as a forward for Indian Arrows. In 2017, Bhat was selected from a football camp in Srinagar to join the Sports Council Football Academy.
His Wikipedia page said Suhail was first called up for the Indian national under-16 football team in 2021, scoring on his debut against the UAE.
Last Year, The Goal reported Suhail Bhat always dreamt of representing India on the international stage, and yet he was in a dilemma before putting pen to paper, as he thought his studies would take a backseat if he went on to join the India U16 squad.
A student of class 10 at Shah-i-Hamdan Educational Institute, in Bemina, Srinagar, Bhat has always excelled in school. But his passion for football finally got the better of him and the 15-year-old agreed to join the India U16 side.
