Hailing from Budgam district of the picturesque Kashmir valley, a young boy named Shah Huzaib is making waves on the internet with stunning football trick-shots that will totally blow away your mind! His journey began when there was unrest all over Kashmir but within the chaos, Huzaib found his purpose and he hasn’t looked back since.
In an exclusive conversation with DNA India, Shah Huzaib spoke candidly about how he decided to take up freestyle football, the Kashmiri culture, recognition on national and international stage, among all other things.
Beginning of Shah Huzaib’s journey
Like plethora of Indian children, Huzaib too played cricket as a child from the age of 7, before making the transition to football. In 2016, there was huge unrest in the valley after terrorist Burhan Wani was killed. Internet was banned and schools were shut, and that proved to be the turning point where the teenager began his tryst with football.
“For two years I practised and fine-tuned my skills. In 2018, there were no Instagram reels when I began, not many people were active on social media here in Kashmir. But as I posted my videos I got a lot of appreciation. It motivated me to continue to do better,” enthused Huzaib.
Recognition and achievements
Six months into freestyle football, local media started to take note of Huzaib’s talent and soon he started to get a lot of exposure, albeit on a local level.
The first major feather in his cap came when Shah Huzaib got featured on popular Youtube page People are awesome, his trick shots amassed five million views. There was no turning back since and till date Huzaib has been featured on WION, Oh My Goal, Sportskeeda and many more media platforms.
The 20-year-old was also selected for India’s Got Talent season 9, for which he travelled to Delhi. Stepping out of Kashmir was a learning curve for him, and he felt that there is a lot of potential for recognition in metropolitan cities.
Amazing Trick Shots; Keep up the good work Shah! #keepgoing pic.twitter.com/zKaTWnH9Et
— Bhaichung Bhutia (@bhaichung15) March 3, 2021
Shah Huzaib’s videos have got shoutouts from Bollywood celebrities such as Suniel Shetty. Former Indian football team skipper Bhaichung Bhutia also appreciated the youngster on social media. Moreover, recently, Real Madrid and Germany footballer Tony Kroos also shared a video of Huzaib’s trickery.
When questioned how he feels about his achievements, the Kashmiri teen said, “It’s a good means of motivation, I feel like working harder after such appreciation. There’s immense power in social media, I would hope for further opportunities. The fact that people of Kashmir notice my work, and appreciate it, makes it worthwhile. My aim is to make trick-shots more popular in India. I’m really thankful to the people and media of Kashmir for their support.”
My video got shoutout from International Footballer @ToniKroos of @realmadrid . Massive ban boy moment.
Big achievement till date. @ToniKroos has played with @Cristiano for 6 years in @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/v3Hxvq6LeX
— Shah huzaib (@CharukShah) January 19, 2022
Challenges in life
When quizzed about the kind of challenges he’s faced in his journey so far, Huzaib revealed that he had hoped for far more recognition. The footballing scenario in Kashmir is still under-development, often there are internet issues, and the society also sometimes doesn’t appreciate or support youngsters like him.
“Everything in life comes at a cost, while practising my phones got damaged by the ball many times, even my family members urged me to stop making videos and focus on studies instead,” he asserted.
Who does he look up to?
Growing up, Huzaib has been a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. “I got inspired by the work ethic and hard work of Ronaldo a lot, he was born with talent, but he also worked very hard in his career,” he stated.
Rallying call of a Kashmiri teen
Looking forward, the youngster hopes to gain more opportunities for growth through the help of government. He aims to help take the sport to fellow youngsters so they can also get inspired by him.
“Since 2018, I have mastered 400 different varieties of trick shots, it’s a time-consuming process though, which requires a lot of focus. I would like to gain further exposure, with certain facilities I would like to promote football and learn more, take this unique talent to all corners of the nation,” concluded Huzaib.
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