Former Indian international player now works as a food delivery agent; know Poulomi Adhikari’s tragic story

There are many fans of football in India, every year when FIFA World Cup is held, India celebrates it with great enthusiasm. Whenever their favourite team loses a FIFA match, the sadness is real. But what else is sad is also the sorry state of affairs of Indian football and footballers. How Indian football is treated in India not only by the administrators but also by the same Indian audience who love to watch Messi and Ronaldo playing, has also been highlighted by time and now Indian football captain, Sunil Chettri. And when it comes to professional woman football players, the situation is even grimmer. 

In one such incident of ignorance of Indian sports talent, a video went viral on Twitter in which a former woman footballer was seen working as a Zomato delivery agent.

The story of Poulomi Adhikari was shared through a video by Twitter user @SanjuktaChoudh5. West Bengal’s Poulomi Adhikari represented India at the U-16 level. She now works as a food delivery agent for Zomato, earning Rs 300-400 per day. In the video, she claims to have travelled to the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sri Lanka while representing India. Adhikari lost her mother when she was a small child, and she is the sole provider for her family and is currently enrolled at Charuchandra University.

This was here tweet- 

She is Poulomi Adhikari a football player who has represented India at the international level. Today she has to support her family as an online food delivery person. #football 

— Sanjukta Choudhury (@SanjuktaChoudh5) January 10, 2023

This video was shared on January 10. Since being uploaded, it has been viewed 46,000 times and has had 1800 likes. Many people have reacted to the clip.

Apart from financial constraints, injuries have also played a role in Poulomi’s willingness to accept the job, but none of this has kept her away from the football field entirely. Despite working a 12-hour shift, she makes time to practice for a couple of hours every day, hoping to reclaim her national jersey. 

There is still hope because the Indian Football Association (IFA) has contacted her for a meeting with the officials.