The commitment and desire of Pune FC to scout the best and most talented youngsters in India is proven by the case of Ranjan Singh, who was plucked from relative obscurity and signed by the Red Lizards.

The 6 feet tall, rugged physique defender was relatively a late bloomer, as he didn’t take up playing serious football until the age of fifteen. Starting out as a striker, his local coach, Shiband Sir, converted him into a central defender to make the best use of his natural abilities.

Soon he started dominating all the opposition attackers as he was imperious in defence, combining his obvious aerial abilities with brilliant positional sense.

It was as recent as 2010 when Ranjan’s hard tackling ability during an all-Manipur Inter-District Tournament impressed Maniratnam, a coach attached with Directorate of Youth and Sports Affairs, Manipur.

On the coach’s advice, Ranjan took the Pune FC trial held in Manipur and was shotlisted among the multitude of boys who turned up in Imphal. In Pune during the final selection round, he was as impressive as before and inducted into the Peninsula Pune FC academy.

The player now hopes to vindicate the faith shown in him by the Pune FC management by one day making it into the senior team and his dream is to also play for the National team. Although a defender, he idolizes Ronaldinho and never misses a game of Brazil, whom he considers the most exciting football team in the world.

The youngster, who dropped out of school after eighth grade spends his free time by listening to Manipuri and Hindi music as well as watching as much football as possible.

While very happy with the training and accommodation facilities provided in Pune, Ranjan does miss his family, which consists of his parents and two elder brothers whom he considers as his inspiration. He also misses them whenever playing in a match as, when in Manipur, they always came to support him in local matches.