Austin Town in Bangalore has the reputation of spawning footballers of repute. It is as if the place has a vibrancy about it that encourages youngsters to take up sports.

But being born in such a town is not enough, a sport person needs words of encouragement to spur them on paths of excellence.

Shivram was lucky in this regard, his father who’s an ex-footballer introduced Shivram to soccer when he was a toddler.

Needless to say, he was enticed by the game and from the moment he first made contact with the ball, he knew soccer was his calling in life.

Shivaram fancied being a striker since he was seven, so it doesn’t come as a surprise when he says that he started playing football matches when he was in class one.

He continued to play the game throughout his school days, often participating in numerous inter-school matches which he confesses taught him a lot about soccer and helped him to understand his strength and weaknesses.

As matches piled up, so did his hunger to participate in the big league. Again being a citizen of Austin Town helped as there are numerous soccer clubs around to give vent to a footballers’ thirst for glory.

Over the years, Shivram took part in matches in and around Bangalore – his most memorable game was the Hussain Trophy when his team won the runners up trophy.

Besides, in 2009-2010 he played for the Under-16 Karnataka team. He also made it to the U-19 team which made it to semi-finals of a match played in Kolkata last year.

Like most of his team mates, he wants to play for the Indian team and when you ask him if he is putting any effort towards the goal – he answers without any hesitation, yes I clock extra hours at the gym and spend extra time practicing.