BUDGAM (J&K): 19-year-old Shah Huzaib, whose crazy trick shots have made him a football sensation on the internet in Kashmir, says he wants to train the youth of Jammu and Kashmir and make trick shots popular across India.
Son of a fruit businessman, Huzaib, a resident of Chari-e-Sharief of Central Kashmir’s Budgam, says the government should provide him an avenue for training football enthusiasts.
His trick-shots videos have attracted a huge audience on social media including YouTube and have been featured on several global platforms like ‘Oh My Goal’ and ‘People Are Awesome’.
One of his videos titled “Insane trick-shot” — in which he kicked a tennis ball through two moving tape-rolls — generated around five million views on YouTube. Recently, one of his videos was shared by German footballer Tony Kroos on his Instagram.
He performs scores of trick-shots using balls of all sizes for his thousands of followers on various social media platforms.
“All those who play football can also learn and play trick shots. I request the government of Jammu and Kashmir to provide facilities to me for this purpose,” he tells The New Indian.
Huzaib says he initially wanted to play cricket but started enjoying football unlike anything else after trying his hand at football with his cousins.
“After two years of rigorous practice, I finally started doing trick shots in 2018. To do trick shots, you need to know the game very well. So I learned football first,” he says, adding, “My family always appreciates my endeavours and it is a constant support system for me.”
Huzaib started playing football to kill boredom when everyone remained confined inside their homes in wake of unrest and shutdowns following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July 2016.
“I started playing football on my lawn all alone. Since the game requires a team to play, I found a strange way by trying to learn football tricks after I stumbled upon some football trick-shot videos on YouTube,” he says.
“I was amazed at what one of the guys did. I felt captivated by his gravity-defying tricks. I tried to emulate some of the tricks on my lawn. I fell in love with what he did. I wanted to do the same,” he says.
Cristiano Ronaldo has always been his inspiration, he says. Actually, it was all about being in touch with football, and trick shots were the only way to be in touch with football. I saw videos of an American sports channel on YouTube in which they were performing football trick shots. I got inspired and started performing and posting them on social media,” he says.
Huzaib, who performs tricks without even looking at the target behind him, says, “I have not received any help from the government so far. Some of the officials only write on social media about helping talents but no one has come forward to help. These people have power and can do anything.”
The new internet sensation of Kashmir says he has mastered 400 kinds 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, taking this unique talent to all corners of the nation,” he says.
He says he damaged his phones many times while making videos of trick-shots but he continued. “Even my family members urged me to stop making videos and focus on studies instead.”
Huzaib 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 me, and I felt that there is a lot of potential for recognition in metropolitan cities.”
“My future is to make trick shots popular in India. I’m planning to get the help of the Indian Army and reach every place through them in Kashmir. Interact with people from far-flung areas and share my knowledge with them to make this art more popular in Kashmir,” he says.