Hooghly: In an effort to etch his name in the international arena of freestyle football, 43-year-old Deepak Roy, from Hooghly, a petrol pump operator and an ardent football lover is looking for patrons who will support his ambitious journey which will require rigorous training and resources.
He mixed football with gymnastics. With constant practice, Deepak could not just dribble but let the football role as freestyle football. By doing so, he was able to get his name enter into the Indian Book of Records thrice.
The resident of Mandal Bagan in Bhadreswar municipality started taking gymnastics training at Udayan Vyasa Samiti besides playing football. Slowly, he started juggling footballs. Now, he has made an appeal to the government for financial assistance which will help him pursue his passion for freestyle football to make his country proud at a global level.
"Initially I used to play football. Then I decided to do something which will attract people and so I started juggling and I have been successful. I love to do this and so I have always tried to improve. I have registered my name in India Book of Records and now I want to do a world record," Deepak Roy told Etv Bharat in an exclusive interview.
When he became confident of juggling with football, he first entered his name in the Indian Book of Records in 2020. The record was that he covered cycling a distance of 14.9 km on a bicycle by balancing a football on his head and the cycle without touching the handle bar of the bicycle.
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An avid fan of football, Deepak concentrates on juggling with football. "I mainly show my skill with football but apart from that I do fire juggling also. I do juggling with small elements like rings and tennis ball. These are something I do to increase my control over football. Mainly, I want to concentrate on football," Roy added.
Roy did not stop there. He continued practicing. In 2021, he made a record for riding a bicycle by balancing a football on a bottle for 58 minutes. He earned a lot of praise for this. Recently in July 2022, Roy entered the Indian Book of Records for swimming with a football on his head for 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Desiring to set a world record in juggling, Roy has sought help from the government or any sports organisation to support him financially to continue his practice in juggling. Roy believes that with his skills and hard work, he can get recognition at a global level.
