Noida’s Robin Singh is a striker, but in football

Speak of Robin Singh and one is immediately reminded of the former Indian cricketer. His 25-year-old namesake too set out to be a cricketer, but the Noida boy ended up being a footballer. He recently made headlines when he scored the winner against Guam in the 2018 World Cup Qualifier.
Speaking to TOI from Bangalore, Robin, who plays as a forward in the Indian team, says, “This was the first winner I have scored for the national side. It was a surreal feeling. I have never felt happier. It is easily the most special of all the goals I have scored in my career so far.” Although he has been away from Noida for some years now, Robin does have fond memories from his childhood in the city. He tells us, "I think my most favourite memory as a child in Noida has to be my neighbourhood aunty who used to chase me for making too much noise when I played football around my place."
Though he honed his footballing skills in Jamshedpur, Robin began his tryst with football in Noida when he first joined the football academy run by former India international player Anadi Barua. “We have several young footballers from Noida who are now playing at the national level in the junior circuits and Robin is like an idol to them. He is the first Noida-based footballer to have reached this far. Hopefully, he will continue to score more goals for India and his club, and make us all Noidawallahs proud,” says Barua, his first coach.
Robin’s parents say that football has always been in his genes. His grandfather Ajit Singh was a professional footballer in the 1950s, and later, became an administrator. His father, Captain NP Singh, is in the merchant navy. He says, “Robin was ten years old when he first took up football. But back then, he played both cricket and football. At the age of 15, he was asked to choose between the two and he opted for the latter. Partly because his grandfather was a footballer and I too wanted him to play football professionally. But a lot of credit for his success also goes to Anadi, who worked on Robin’s skills and instilled discipline in him.”
His parents say that whenever Robin returns home, which is located in Sector 50, kids from the neighbourhood come to meet him just to get a few football tips from him. His mother Caroline says, “He spends most of his time in Noida hanging out with the kids and meeting his friends. I just make sure that his diet and routine are unaffected.”
His performances have earned him praise from international players. Brazillian footballer and Robin’s manager at Delhi Dynamos, Roberto Carlos, was quoted as saying that Robin is a “very good player and is in a good time of his career,” adding that he would want him to “play like Luis Suarez does for Barcelona.”