Yupia (Arunachal Pradesh)[India], May 11 (ANI): Thirty minutes before India versus Sri Lanka kicked off in the SAFF U19 Championship in Yupia, the stadium announcer began reading out the team line-ups. The loudest cheers were reserved for the Indian number 9, the homeboy, Omang Dodum.

This was a momentous occasion in the history of Arunachal sports. A first-ever international football tournament in the state, an Indian national team in action, and above all, a local lad leading the forward line. Dodum scored India's fifth of the night and his first ever official goal for the country. Although the 17-year-old had scored for India in Europe in a friendly against German club Reutlingen in 2023, this was undoubtedly the most sensational moment of his young career.

As per AIFF media release, 'It was a dream to score in my home ground in front of my family. Many of my relatives and friends came from all over Arunachal just for this game,' said Dodum, who hails from Jollang village.

The main stand was a sea of blue. Most of them were Dodum's near and dear ones who had thronged the stadium hours before kick-off.

'When I learned that the SAFF U19 Championship would be held in Arunachal Pradesh, my first thought was that my family would watch me play for the national team. I'll play in front of the home crowd. I never expected this. This is everyone's dream.'

Dodum's moment arrived in the 49th minute. He intercepted a pass just outside the box and squeezed the ball through the keeper's legs before swaying towards the main stand and pointing towards his family.

'The ball just came to me, and I set myself up and placed it in. I just had to get that goal. Scoring in such a superb atmosphere felt amazing. There were goosebumps. I felt like 'finally', this is the moment I had been waiting for as a number nine. I just wanted to hug my family.

'Although it came a bit late, as I was unable to score in the first half, I was still confident. Playing in front of all my loved ones, I always feel that I have to do something. I have to score. I don't think you can call this pressure. I relish this,' he said.

Dodum, Arunachal, and all of India have to thank his father, Kage Dodum, for introducing his son to football. Sport runs in the blood. Dodum's father, a former football player and the Secretary of the Arunachal Athletics Association, sent him to the Kolkata Football Academy when he was 11 years old, and he hasn't looked back since.

'My father asked me if I was interested in playing football professionally, and I said yes, of course. I went to the Kolkata Football Academy. I haven't lived at home since I was 11.'

'After a couple of years, I participated in trials at the Chandigarh Football Academy and got selected. I also spent a few months at Sudeva Delhi FC. After that, I was picked by Punjab FC for their U15 team after successful trials. It's been a fantastic few years at Punjab FC, winning the RFDL, playing the Next Gen Cup and getting promoted to the first team,' he shared.

Dodum scored in the final of the 2024 Reliance Foundation Development League to help Punjab FC win the title. Representing not just his club but also India in the Next Gen Cup in Birmingham, England, he made a mark with a goal against Aston Villa.

As far as the blue of India is concerned, Dodum first joined the national camp in 2023 for the tour of Germany and Spain before the AFC U17 Asian Cup in Thailand, where he made two appearances against Vietnam and Uzbekistan. Graduating into the U19 squad now, he awaits his first silverware for the country. What better place for that than the Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains?

'I would like to thank the entire Arunachal for the support. It was amazing to see so much crowd. Not just for me, but for my teammates as well. They feel so much at home here. I'm happier about that. Keep supporting us like this throughout the tournament. All of you are happy, so we're also happy. We'll try to score every chance we get,' Dodum concluded. (ANI)