With the Bengaluru-Jamshedpur Indian Super League (ISL) clash on a knife-edge at the Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday, substitute Gourav Mukhi pulled the visitors level with a quality goal. Reading a lofted ball from the centre to perfection, Mukhi accelerated past Spanish defender Alberto Serrán, before slotting past an onrushing Gurpreet Sandhu with the outside of his foot. The broadcasters identified him as a 16-year-old, (the age also stated on the ISL website) making him the youngest goalscorer in ISL history.
Moments after the goal, reports on social media questioned his age. Was he only 16? One particular report from 2015 cited Mukhi as one of five players found overage in the U-15 sub-junior Jharkhand team. Mukhi, who scored five goals as Jharkhand beat Goa 8-3 in the final, was suspended for one year and the state football federation was fined one lakh rupees (about $1350) as punishment. If he was over 15 years old in 2015, surely he must be older than 16 in 2018?
What is the ISL saying?
An ISL official told ESPN that the league takes data on all players from the AIFF's (All India Football Federation) central database, just like any other tournament or championship. "It seems like the central database should have red-flagged him during registration this season, but didn't," said the official. "It is the AIFF that needs to look into this, and I hope there would be some course correction."
AIFF told ESPN that Mukhi had given a written undertaking in 2015 clarifying that his year of birth is 1999 and not 2002 as originally submitted. Which means he should be 19 now.
This might also explain why he wasn't considered for selection to the 2017 U-17 World Cup despite his prolific goal-scoring, a tournament where the Indian team selection had already sparked a conversation about age discrepancies in Indian football. This episode suggests the malaise isn't gone from Indian football just yet.
Jamshedpur FC's media manager Souptikk Daas told Scroll that the allegations are "all very speculative."
"We needn't react to each and every story that's out there," he said. "He has the proper documents. He went abroad for the pre-season training, so his passport and other ID proofs have the same age. If there was anything wrong, it would have been set right then itself."
Why the debate is a shame
The debate about his actual age probably took a bit of the sheen off a fine performance. "For the last three weeks, all we have been saying about his thoughts -- focus, training, and what do you dream about? Goals," Cahill told ISL after full time, with his arm around the youngster.
Mukhi has been one of Jamshedpur's in-form players in pre-season, and his goal capped off a week where seven Indians registered their names on the ISL scoresheet, including 19-year-old Pranjal Bhumij of Mumbai City, and Mukhi himself cancelled out 20-year-old Nishu Kumar's screamer for Bengaluru FC about 36 minutes before his goal.
The rising confidence, evident in the goal scored by ISL debutant Rana Gharami of Delhi Dynamos earlier in the week, is perhaps an inevitable fallout of the change in rules about fielding five foreigners as opposed to six, brought in during the 2017-18 season. It also comes around at a time that the Indian national team, has been consistently fielding younger players. Coach Stephen Constantine's India probables that meet for the upcoming friendly against China on October 13, have 13 players out of 29 who are 23 and under.
While it is important to address the broader issue of age discrepancy in Indian football, let's also take a moment to appreciate a week a superb Indian displays in ISL's opening week.
Well, nobody is going through the hardships that he has gone through to reach at this level. Maybe he is a age cheat but he is better than the current under 23 regulars Farukh and Passi. Everyone will agree to this fact that he is better than them otherwise why will a Spanish coach will field a Gourav instead of Farukh and Passi if there were good enough. Let's see how the league progesses and how much impressive he is at the end of the day.
P.S : Booked the tickets for first home match. Last time there was a network issue at the stadium,which I think might be in place this time also but will try to give you updates.
It seems the news editor was about to write the age of gourav mukhi as 16, then he saw his jersey number 28.. "Oh that is my age 28 ", he then writes the age of the jharkhand lad is 28.
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Let's talk about Gourav Mukhi's goal, not his age
With the Bengaluru-Jamshedpur Indian Super League (ISL) clash on a knife-edge at the Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday, substitute Gourav Mukhi pulled the visitors level with a quality goal. Reading a lofted ball from the centre to perfection, Mukhi accelerated past Spanish defender Alberto Serrán, before slotting past an onrushing Gurpreet Sandhu with the outside of his foot. The broadcasters identified him as a 16-year-old, (the age also stated on the ISL website) making him the youngest goalscorer in ISL history.
Moments after the goal, reports on social media questioned his age. Was he only 16? One particular report from 2015 cited Mukhi as one of five players found overage in the U-15 sub-junior Jharkhand team. Mukhi, who scored five goals as Jharkhand beat Goa 8-3 in the final, was suspended for one year and the state football federation was fined one lakh rupees (about $1350) as punishment. If he was over 15 years old in 2015, surely he must be older than 16 in 2018?
What is the ISL saying?
An ISL official told ESPN that the league takes data on all players from the AIFF's (All India Football Federation) central database, just like any other tournament or championship. "It seems like the central database should have red-flagged him during registration this season, but didn't," said the official. "It is the AIFF that needs to look into this, and I hope there would be some course correction."
AIFF told ESPN that Mukhi had given a written undertaking in 2015 clarifying that his year of birth is 1999 and not 2002 as originally submitted. Which means he should be 19 now.
This might also explain why he wasn't considered for selection to the 2017 U-17 World Cup despite his prolific goal-scoring, a tournament where the Indian team selection had already sparked a conversation about age discrepancies in Indian football. This episode suggests the malaise isn't gone from Indian football just yet.
Jamshedpur FC's media manager Souptikk Daas told Scroll that the allegations are "all very speculative."
"We needn't react to each and every story that's out there," he said. "He has the proper documents. He went abroad for the pre-season training, so his passport and other ID proofs have the same age. If there was anything wrong, it would have been set right then itself."
Why the debate is a shame
The debate about his actual age probably took a bit of the sheen off a fine performance. "For the last three weeks, all we have been saying about his thoughts -- focus, training, and what do you dream about? Goals," Cahill told ISL after full time, with his arm around the youngster.
Mukhi has been one of Jamshedpur's in-form players in pre-season, and his goal capped off a week where seven Indians registered their names on the ISL scoresheet, including 19-year-old Pranjal Bhumij of Mumbai City, and Mukhi himself cancelled out 20-year-old Nishu Kumar's screamer for Bengaluru FC about 36 minutes before his goal.
The rising confidence, evident in the goal scored by ISL debutant Rana Gharami of Delhi Dynamos earlier in the week, is perhaps an inevitable fallout of the change in rules about fielding five foreigners as opposed to six, brought in during the 2017-18 season. It also comes around at a time that the Indian national team, has been consistently fielding younger players. Coach Stephen Constantine's India probables that meet for the upcoming friendly against China on October 13, have 13 players out of 29 who are 23 and under.
While it is important to address the broader issue of age discrepancy in Indian football, let's also take a moment to appreciate a week a superb Indian displays in ISL's opening week.
P.S : Booked the tickets for first home match. Last time there was a network issue at the stadium,which I think might be in place this time also but will try to give you updates.