Mumbai footballer Mary Naidu dreams of becoming a national-level footballer.
An eighteen-year-old Mumbai footballer, who was honoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about three years ago, has been living on a pavement in the city with her family after her home was razed in a demolition drive last month. In a tweet, BJP MP and Olympian Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today urged the central government to help her.
"Talented young girl and part of mission 11 million who was also introduced to PM @narendramodi ji during the inaugural World Cup football match in Delhi. Please see what best can be done for her @Dev_Fadnavis @KirenRijiju @IndiaSports," the 49-year-old BJP leader tweeted and tagged Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju as he sought help for Mary Naidu, the teen who dreams of becoming a national-level football player despite the personal challenges.
In 2017, Mary Naidu was honoured by PM Modi as a part of centre's Mission 11 initiative that aimed to make football more popular. She was 16 at that time.
It was last month that the hutment in King Circle area of Mumbai, where she lived, was bulldozed and she lost all her sports medals and school books. She was forced to drop out of school due to financial constraints. Mary Naidu's family of five later shifted to a temporary shed on a pavement in the same locality where they are living now.
Despite the personal challenges, she still dreams of becoming a national-level football player. "I want to become a national-level footballer. I also want my sisters to play football," she told NDTV. The teen believes that football can help her beat poverty .
Several political leaders have come forward, offering help to the family, says Mary's father Prakash Naidu but "none of them fulfilled their promises". "We were promised a new house. Eknath Gaikwad, Sanjay Nirupam had come forward to help us. But nobody fulfilled the promises," he said.